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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — a subject
  3. fall — the season
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wake — a trail
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cue — for pool
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — for digging
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. race — humankind
  15. fall — to drop
  16. dip — to sink
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cue — a hint
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to click
  24. field — for sport

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