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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. race — the arms race
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — after costs
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — a country
  15. race — a contest
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — ground
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mine — for digging
  21. net — for catching
  22. land — to come down
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cell — a phone

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