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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. sharp — clever
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. land — ground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. land — a country
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ground — crushed
  14. race — humankind
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. land — to come down
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. foot — a measure
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — exactly

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