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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. spell — a short time
  2. sharp — clever
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — a contest
  8. spell — magic
  9. race — humankind
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rule — a law
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. spell — letters
  16. bore — to drill
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rule — government
  19. bore — to tire
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fork — in a road
  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