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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · pound · nail · rash · race · land

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. race — humankind
  4. pound — a weight
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. race — a contest
  9. land — a country
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. game — a match
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty

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