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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — for sport
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rest — what's left
  8. squash — the sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. race — humankind
  12. pop — to visit
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. pop — music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pop — soda
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. straw — a straw man

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