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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — a measure
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. race — a contest
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. roll — a list
  17. ball — a dance
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — a tool
  23. roll — a cake
  24. ball — a great time

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