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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. land — a country
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. snap — to click
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. land — ground
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cap — a hat
  16. race — the arms race
  17. drill — army training
  18. race — a contest
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cap — a lid
  23. race — humankind
  24. drill — 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