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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. club — for golf
  3. pop — soda
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. last — final
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. club — a group
  11. rash — a series
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — ground
  14. last — finally
  15. land — to come down
  16. race — a contest
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. rash — hasty
  19. last — to go on
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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