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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pop — soda
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — clever
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pop — music
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hand — in cards
  13. race — a contest
  14. pop — to visit
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. dip — to dunk

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