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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. race — a contest
  3. pound — a weight
  4. race — humankind
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — for digging
  8. tube — the underground
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. kick — in football
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spell — magic
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — a match
  21. spell — letters
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. chair — a professorship

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