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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: plane · race · drill · ground · mark · fork · kick · last

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. mark — a trace
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — army training
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — humankind
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. mark — a grade
  19. plane — a tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fork — in a road
  23. race — a contest
  24. plane — in geometry

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