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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — humankind
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — a subject
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — farmland
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. race — the arms race
  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