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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: wake · bear · fall · mug · mine · land · race · spell

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. land — a country
  6. spell — magic
  7. mug — to rob
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — a short time
  10. race — a contest
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spell — letters
  13. fall — to drop
  14. land — to come down
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. race — humankind
  21. fall — the season
  22. mug — a cup
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mug — a face

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