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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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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. land — ground
  3. bound — tied together
  4. track — a song
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bound — certain
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. race — a contest
  10. track — a path
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. land — a country
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bound — obliged
  17. track — to keep track
  18. land — to come down
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. snap — to click

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