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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. club — for golf
  3. race — a contest
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. club — a group
  9. track — to keep track
  10. race — humankind
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — money
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. race — the arms race
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a city
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mine — belonging to me

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