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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — humankind
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. field — a subject
  6. net — after costs
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. net — for catching

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