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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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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: nail · race · cold · cue · rush · fork · game · saw

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cue — for pool
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rush — hurry
  5. race — humankind
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. game — a match
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — a contest
  13. fork — in a road
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. saw — the tool

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