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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rest — what's left
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — a break
  9. drill — a practice
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — army training
  16. clip — a video
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. plane — a tool
  19. race — humankind
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. drill — the tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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