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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. court — for sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fork — in a road
  9. court — of a king
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cue — a hint
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. race — a contest
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. root — the cause
  17. hand — help
  18. root — of a word
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. court — of law
  23. root — of a plant
  24. race — the arms race

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