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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. kid — to tease
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. land — a country
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. object — an aim
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — child
  9. net — after costs
  10. bark — to shout
  11. net — in sport
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. land — ground
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. race — the arms race
  16. net — for catching
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. land — to come down
  19. object — a thing
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. object — to protest
  22. mine — for digging
  23. race — humankind
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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