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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — a position
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. race — the arms race
  7. squash — the sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. swing — to play on
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — crushed
  16. band — a ring
  17. rush — hurry
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — to handle
  20. swing — music
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. ground — the earth
  24. race — humankind

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