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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. race — humankind
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — for catching
  5. track — a path
  6. track — a song
  7. land — a country
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. land — ground
  13. track — to keep track
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. race — the arms race
  17. net — after costs
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a ring
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cell — in a prison
  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