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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. field — a subject
  3. squash — to crush
  4. tear — to rip
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rash — a series
  9. pass — a permit
  10. charge — in control
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — farmland
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. rash — hasty
  16. key — for a lock
  17. squash — the sport
  18. race — humankind
  19. key — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. charge — electricity
  22. key — the most important part
  23. charge — a price
  24. race — a contest

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