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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. spring — of water
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. race — humankind
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kick — in football
  14. march — music
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. spring — the season
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. march — the month
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — a contest
  24. fork — a garden tool

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