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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: race · trunk · kick · saw · mine · rule · pound · game

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mine — for digging
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. rule — a law
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pound — a weight
  15. rule — government
  16. game — a match
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — a contest
  23. kick — in football
  24. saw — the tool

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