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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. snap — to click
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. content — the amount
  9. rule — a law
  10. capital — a city
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — a contest
  13. rule — government
  14. content — happy
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. race — humankind
  19. capital — money
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. foot — a measure

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