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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ground — a position
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ground — crushed
  8. race — humankind
  9. mine — for digging
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. dip — to sink
  12. scale — size or range
  13. land — ground
  14. ground — the earth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. race — the arms race
  17. land — to come down
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. scale — in music
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. land — a country

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