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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mine — for digging
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. chest — of your body
  6. race — humankind
  7. foot — a measure
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — a box
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. shower — rain
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. land — ground
  20. race — the arms race
  21. saw — the tool
  22. land — a country
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. mine — an explosive

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