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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. race — a contest
  3. mine — for digging
  4. race — humankind
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. kid — child
  7. charge — electricity
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. field — farmland
  12. charge — in control
  13. field — for sport
  14. race — the arms race
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. charge — a price
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. perch — for a bird

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