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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. land — ground
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. race — a contest
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. wake — a trail
  11. tube — a container
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. ground — a position
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. land — a country
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. land — to come down
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. tube — in a tire

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