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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. last — finally
  3. swing — music
  4. last — final
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. race — the arms race
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. saw — the tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. last — to go on
  18. swing — to play on
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stand — to bear
  21. race — a contest
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. fork — in a road

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