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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. deal — to handle
  4. land — a country
  5. shower — to wash
  6. file — a document
  7. land — ground
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pitch — completely
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. race — humankind
  12. chair — a leader
  13. file — a line of people
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. race — a contest
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. season — of the year
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. season — in sport
  23. file — a tool
  24. land — to come down

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