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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. squash — to crush
  3. race — the arms race
  4. field — for sport
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — a subject
  8. squash — the sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. land — to come down
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rest — a break
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — ground
  17. race — a contest
  18. land — a country

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