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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. hand — help
  3. land — a country
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. hand — in cards
  8. land — to come down
  9. present — the time now
  10. mine — for digging
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. present — a gift
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. board — a committee
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. land — ground
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. band — a ring
  23. present — there
  24. band — a music group

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