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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. field — farmland
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — the season
  10. field — a subject
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. spring — a coil
  13. row — a line
  14. season — in sport
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. season — of the year
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chair — a leader
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. snap — to click
  22. spring — of water
  23. race — humankind
  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