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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. last — final
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chair — a leader
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. race — humankind
  24. rush — hurry

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