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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rash — hasty
  3. club — a group
  4. field — a subject
  5. bear — the animal
  6. club — for golf
  7. field — farmland
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. drill — a practice
  11. field — for sport
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. race — humankind
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chair — a leader
  16. race — a contest
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. bear — the animal
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. drill — army training
  24. wind — moving air

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