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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 116 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. race — a contest
  3. band — a music group
  4. track — to keep track
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — a country
  7. snap — to click
  8. race — humankind
  9. shower — rain
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. race — the arms race
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — to wash
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. band — a ring
  18. land — ground
  19. face — to point toward
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. land — to come down
  24. track — a path

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