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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: court · hand · wake · race · temple · march · fork · stick

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. race — humankind
  7. hand — help
  8. march — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — the month
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. race — a contest
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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