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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. track — to keep track
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. track — a path
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. dip — to sink
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. land — to come down
  21. kid — to tease
  22. track — a song
  23. fall — the season
  24. kid — child

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