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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mate — a friend
  3. race — a contest
  4. chest — of your body
  5. land — a country
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mark — a grade
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mate — to breed
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — army training
  21. land — ground
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. land — to come down

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