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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cell — in biology
  3. board — a committee
  4. field — farmland
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. file — a document
  7. pass — a permit
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. board — to get on
  10. field — a subject
  11. file — a tool
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. race — a contest
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. race — the arms race
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — humankind
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cell — a phone
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. deal — an agreement

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