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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — employees
  4. kid — child
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. can — a tin
  8. track — a song
  9. field — for sport
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — to tease
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — to keep track
  16. can — to be able to
  17. staff — a stick
  18. race — humankind
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. staff — employees
  22. track — a path
  23. can — a tin
  24. race — the arms race

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