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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ground — the earth
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. field — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. race — a contest
  9. ball — a great time
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — in cards
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ground — a position
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. ball — a dance
  17. press — a publisher
  18. ground — crushed
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — help
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. press — to push

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