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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. object — a thing
  8. net — in sport
  9. object — an aim
  10. hand — help
  11. season — of the year
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. ball — a dance
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — for catching
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. race — a contest
  19. season — in sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. net — after costs
  23. land — ground
  24. race — humankind

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