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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. field — farmland
  3. pop — soda
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fall — the season
  6. race — humankind
  7. fall — to drop
  8. staff — a stick
  9. field — a subject
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fall — to drop
  19. staff — employees
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — in football
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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