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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. track — a song
  3. fork — in a road
  4. craft — a skill
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. plane — a tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. track — a path
  14. degree — temperature
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. hand — help
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. saw — the 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