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

Word bank: staff · pit · bat · race · shower · fork

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pit — in a race
  3. staff — employees
  4. bat — the animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. race — humankind
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fork — in a road
  13. shower — to wash
  14. race — a contest
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. race — the arms race
  18. staff — employees

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