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

Word bank: date · chip · wake · race · rule · lean · last · land

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. lean — thin
  3. last — to go on
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. race — a contest
  6. land — a country
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. chip — for betting
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rule — a law
  11. last — finally
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rule — government
  16. last — final
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chip — to eat
  23. lean — to bend
  24. race — the arms race

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