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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. bass — the fish
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chip — to eat
  6. track — a song
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cap — a lid
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. track — a path
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bass — low music
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spring — the season
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cap — of ice
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — of water

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