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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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 — the arms race
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — final
  6. date — the fruit
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cap — a hat
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cap — of ice
  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