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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 116 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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fork — in a road
  3. race — humankind
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pound — a weight
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. land — a country
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — to wash
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. race — a contest
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. land — ground
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. race — the arms race

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