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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. court — for sport
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — of a king
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. last — to go on
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pop — to visit
  13. court — of law
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. land — ground
  18. last — final
  19. pop — music
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pop — soda
  24. pound — a weight

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