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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. mate — a friend
  3. suit — clothes
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mug — a cup
  8. race — a contest
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. suit — in cards
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — to rob
  16. tear — to rip
  17. suit — to fit
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cold — not warm
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mate — to breed
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cold — an illness
  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