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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. last — final
  3. race — humankind
  4. game — a match
  5. race — the arms race
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. spell — letters
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wax — to grow
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spell — magic
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. race — a contest
  23. last — finally
  24. wax — for sculpting

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