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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. object — to protest
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. object — an aim
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. saw — the tool
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. object — a thing
  12. race — the arms race
  13. land — a country
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. land — to come down
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. saw — the tool
  21. race — a contest
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. land — ground
  24. file — a document

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