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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stem — to come from
  3. race — a contest
  4. tube — the underground
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. firm — steady
  13. bat — the animal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — a subject
  20. firm — a company
  21. field — farmland
  22. ground — the earth
  23. firm — decided
  24. field — for sport

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