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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. field — farmland
  3. mug — a face
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — an illness
  7. object — to protest
  8. track — a song
  9. field — a subject
  10. mug — a cup
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. field — for sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. race — humankind
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. object — an aim
  20. rush — hurry
  21. race — the arms race
  22. object — a thing
  23. race — a contest
  24. cabinet — ministers

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