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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — a phone
  3. object — a thing
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. field — for sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rest — what's left
  9. deal — to handle
  10. race — a contest
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — in biology
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. last — final
  18. object — to protest
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. race — humankind
  22. rest — a break
  23. last — finally
  24. object — an aim

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