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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. land — a country
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. track — to keep track
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. race — humankind
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. race — a contest
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. track — a song
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. track — a path
  19. land — to come down
  20. pass — a permit
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. land — ground
  24. pass — to succeed

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