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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. field — farmland
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. squash — to crush
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — the amount
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. cold — not warm
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. field — a subject

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