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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. race — a contest
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rash — hasty
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. race — humankind
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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