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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. band — a music group
  3. race — humankind
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — to come down
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. shower — to wash
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pitch — completely
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — to sink
  21. land — a country
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. band — a ring

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