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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. field — a subject
  2. snap — to click
  3. bound — obliged
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bound — tied together
  7. board — a committee
  8. cue — for pool
  9. field — farmland
  10. bound — certain
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — humankind
  14. band — a music group
  15. race — a contest
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — crushed
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cue — a hint
  22. board — to get on
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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