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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 116 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: race · lean · tear · last · land · board · snap · fine

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. land — to come down
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lean — thin
  14. last — finally
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. snap — to click
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. land — ground
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. land — a country
  23. race — a contest
  24. last — final

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