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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: pit · saw · sharp · fall · race · mine · fork · ground

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pit — in a race
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ground — crushed
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fall — the season
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pit — a hole
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fall — to drop

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