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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. race — humankind
  3. kid — child
  4. track — to keep track
  5. kid — to tease
  6. race — a contest
  7. rule — a law
  8. track — a path
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. land — a country
  17. lean — thin
  18. land — to come down
  19. hand — help
  20. lean — to bend
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — ground
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. hand — in cards

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