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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. race — the arms race
  3. field — farmland
  4. prune — to trim
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fine — all right
  10. foot — a measure
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. field — for sport
  14. fine — high quality
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. race — a contest
  17. mine — for digging
  18. foot — part of the body

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