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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. spring — of water
  4. key — in music
  5. rule — a law
  6. key — the most important part
  7. date — the fruit
  8. stand — to bear
  9. race — the arms race
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pound — a weight
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rule — government
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. race — humankind
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. stand — for spectators

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