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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. snap — to click
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bound — obliged
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — magic
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — for digging
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bound — certain
  15. spell — letters
  16. shower — rain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spell — a short time
  20. shower — to wash
  21. deal — to handle
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. deal — an agreement

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