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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. court — of law
  6. file — a line of people
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. rest — what's left
  12. press — to push
  13. rest — a break
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. race — a contest
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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