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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spell — letters
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitch — completely
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. net — in sport
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. race — humankind
  18. rule — a law
  19. net — for catching
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rule — government
  23. land — to come down
  24. rule — to rule out

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