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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 124 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. spell — magic
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — farmland
  9. race — humankind
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spell — a short time
  14. ground — crushed
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ground — a position
  19. rule — government
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — the earth
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fork — in a road

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