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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. race — humankind
  5. cell — in biology
  6. field — farmland
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — a subject
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitch — completely

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