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

Word bank: racket · straw · fork · cue · sharp · rule · ground · race

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rule — government
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — a contest
  5. rule — a law
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. race — humankind
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. ground — a position
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cue — a signal
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cue — a hint
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cue — for pool
  22. ground — the earth
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. sharp — clever

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