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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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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: safe · bat · tear · court · bear · race · fork · rush

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. race — humankind
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fork — in a road
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. race — the arms race
  21. court — of law
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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