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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: firm · rash · bear · scale · fork · march · race · present

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rash — hasty
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. scale — size or range
  12. march — the month
  13. race — a contest
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. firm — decided
  18. scale — in music
  19. march — the month
  20. firm — a company
  21. present — a gift
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rash — a series
  24. march — music

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