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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. charge — a price
  5. race — a contest
  6. charge — in control
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. key — in music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — for a lock
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. charge — electricity
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rule — government
  20. race — humankind
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rule — a law
  24. sharp — clever

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