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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. current — happening now
  3. scale — size or range
  4. current — of water
  5. drill — a practice
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. race — a contest
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. field — for sport
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stand — to bear
  18. race — humankind
  19. scale — in music
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. field — farmland
  24. current — electric

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