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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — farmland
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tube — the underground
  15. field — a subject
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. tube — a container
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. face — to point toward

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