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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. tear — to rip
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. race — the arms race
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. field — a subject
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. field — farmland
  16. chair — a leader
  17. ground — a position
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — crushed
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mouse — for a computer

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