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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — a video
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. field — farmland
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. last — final
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. field — for sport
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. rock — music
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. clip — for paper
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rock — a stone

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