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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — of the year
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. field — for sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. field — farmland
  16. bear — the animal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — in sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — the Cold War

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