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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. race — humankind
  2. race — the arms race
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. hand — in cards
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. squash — the sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. date — the fruit
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. content — happy
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — the amount
  17. race — a contest
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — a trace
  20. prune — to trim
  21. hand — help
  22. mark — a grade
  23. date — on the calendar
  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