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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. race — a contest
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — shares
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. track — a song
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. track — a path
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. stock — goods
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. race — humankind
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spell — a short time

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