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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: club · plane · chest · wound · fork · race · ruler · march

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — the month
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. march — music
  11. plane — a tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fork — in a road
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. club — a group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. race — a contest
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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