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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — humankind
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. race — a contest
  5. field — a subject
  6. cap — a lid
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. snap — to click
  10. drill — the tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. field — for sport
  15. current — of water
  16. drill — a practice
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cap — of ice
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. drill — army training
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. cap — a hat

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