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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. land — a country
  3. track — a song
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bound — obliged
  6. field — for sport
  7. lie — to recline
  8. race — humankind
  9. bound — certain
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. race — a contest
  12. field — a subject
  13. track — to keep track
  14. land — to come down
  15. race — the arms race
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. land — ground
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — tied together

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