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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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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: fork · nail · sharp · pitcher · land · race · lash · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. race — a contest
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. land — a country
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fork — in a road
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. race — humankind
  15. land — to come down
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. game — a match
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. game — wild animals
  23. sharp — clever
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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