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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: foot · march · race · jam · land · snap · clip · pound

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — ground
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. race — a contest
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. march — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. clip — a video
  20. snap — to click
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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