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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. race — humankind
  4. land — ground
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. season — of the year
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pound — a weight
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. plane — a tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. chest — a box
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. chest — of your body
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. land — a country

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