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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 116 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rush — hurry
  5. file — a document
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. deal — to handle
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. race — humankind
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — for sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. file — a tool
  18. rush — a thrill

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