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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fork — in a road
  10. race — humankind
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. sharp — clever
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. hand — help
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rock — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. race — a contest
  24. rock — a stone

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