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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. race — a contest
  3. net — in sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. swing — music
  6. race — humankind
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — finally
  10. net — after costs
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. swing — to play on
  16. net — for catching
  17. wind — moving air
  18. swing — in golf
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. kid — child
  24. race — the arms race

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