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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. net — after costs
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. ground — a position
  6. rash — a series
  7. ground — the earth
  8. race — humankind
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. land — ground
  11. ground — crushed
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. land — a country
  17. rash — hasty
  18. race — a contest
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. land — to come down
  22. squash — to crush
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. net — for catching

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