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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: chest · pound · perch · rock · land · safe · race · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. last — to go on
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chest — a box
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. race — humankind
  10. last — finally
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — of your body
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. land — a country
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rock — a stone
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. land — ground
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — final
  23. perch — for a bird
  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