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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. land — to come down
  3. present — the time now
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. present — a gift
  10. ground — the earth
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. land — ground
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. present — there
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — a position
  20. band — a music group
  21. land — a country
  22. deal — to handle
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. band — a ring

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