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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. race — the arms race
  3. spell — letters
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spell — a short time
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. mine — for digging
  9. club — for dancing
  10. race — a contest
  11. club — for golf
  12. spell — magic
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. club — a group
  17. race — humankind
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. row — a line
  21. land — a country
  22. lie — to recline
  23. land — ground
  24. row — to paddle

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