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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. present — a gift
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cell — in biology
  8. row — a line
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — a phone
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — to paddle
  16. present — there
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. present — the time now
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com