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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — to visit
  5. season — of the year
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mate — a friend
  9. race — a contest
  10. drill — army training
  11. race — humankind
  12. mate — to breed
  13. season — in sport
  14. pop — music
  15. land — to come down
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pop — soda
  18. race — the arms race
  19. land — a country
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. chest — a box
  22. mate — a partner
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden 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