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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. shower — rain
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — to bend
  6. shower — to wash
  7. board — a committee
  8. degree — temperature
  9. race — the arms race
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. board — to get on
  12. fork — in a road
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fall — the season
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. race — humankind
  20. lean — thin
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. degree — from a university
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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