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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mug — a face
  3. board — to get on
  4. field — a subject
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. race — a contest
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a cup
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rash — a series
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. field — for sport
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — farmland
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. racket — for tennis

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