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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. board — to get on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — a lid
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. hand — in cards

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