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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. shower — rain
  8. race — humankind
  9. deal — to handle
  10. march — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. band — a music group
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. band — a ring
  20. fork — in a road
  21. race — a contest
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. deal — a big deal

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