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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. race — humankind
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pop — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rock — music
  14. dip — to sink
  15. saw — the tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. pop — to visit
  18. game — a match
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. pop — soda
  21. mine — for digging
  22. object — a thing
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. saw — the tool

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