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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 124 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. present — there
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fine — all right
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fine — high quality
  12. field — farmland
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. race — the arms race
  15. present — the time now
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. race — a contest
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. present — a gift
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mine — belonging to me

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