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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. field — for sport
  3. pop — music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. land — ground
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — soda
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. race — a contest
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — a series
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stem — to come from
  16. field — a subject
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — a country
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — to come down
  24. race — humankind

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