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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spell — magic
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mine — for digging
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pass — a permit
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. race — humankind
  13. snap — to click
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. land — a country
  19. race — a contest
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spell — letters
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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