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

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. race — humankind
  3. pop — soda
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. field — farmland
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cap — of ice
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mouse — for a computer

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