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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — a leader
  3. race — the arms race
  4. field — for sport
  5. root — the cause
  6. field — farmland
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. race — a contest
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. field — a subject
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. race — humankind
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. root — of a word
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. root — of a plant

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