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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. land — a country
  4. last — finally
  5. row — a line
  6. last — to go on
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ground — the earth
  9. land — ground
  10. row — to paddle
  11. dip — to sink
  12. land — to come down
  13. ground — crushed
  14. last — final
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. race — the arms race
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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