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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · club · stick · chest · race · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. club — for golf
  3. race — the arms race
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. race — humankind
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fork — in a road
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. chest — a box
  15. toast — bread
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. race — a contest
  18. fork — to eat with

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