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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — in a road
  8. staff — employees
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. race — the arms race
  17. clip — to cut
  18. staff — employees
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — a law
  23. race — a contest
  24. rule — government

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