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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. race — a contest
  3. sharp — clever
  4. track — to keep track
  5. race — humankind
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. land — to come down
  8. rule — government
  9. land — a country
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. land — ground
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rule — a law

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