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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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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: cap · march · snap · rash · arm · safe · sharp · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rash — hasty
  4. snap — to click
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. rash — a series
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cap — of ice
  10. march — music
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cap — a lid
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. march — the month
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. sharp — clever
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fork — in a road

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