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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · ball · race · stock · pit · dip · rule · mine

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. stock — shares
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pit — in a race
  7. ball — a dance
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. rule — a law
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. land — a country
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rule — government
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. land — to come down
  22. ball — a great time
  23. stock — goods
  24. rule — to rule out

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