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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: land · fall · kick · pound · arm · bound · race · press

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. land — ground
  3. pound — a weight
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bound — certain
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. press — a publisher
  13. land — a country
  14. bound — tied together
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fall — the season
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. press — newspapers
  19. fall — to drop
  20. press — to push
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. land — to come down
  23. race — the arms race
  24. kick — in football

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