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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. field — for sport
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. object — to protest
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. club — for dancing
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. field — farmland
  11. rush — hurry
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. object — an aim
  16. club — a group
  17. race — the arms race
  18. game — a match
  19. field — a subject
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. object — a thing
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — for golf
  24. game — wild animals

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