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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. race — humankind
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bore — to tire
  6. sharp — clever
  7. race — a contest
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. spring — of water
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. field — farmland
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bore — to drill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. spring — the season
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — a coil

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