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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. field — farmland
  4. club — a group
  5. net — for catching
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bore — to drill
  10. spring — a coil
  11. net — after costs
  12. spring — of water
  13. field — for sport
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. last — finally
  16. spring — the season
  17. lean — thin
  18. club — for dancing
  19. net — in sport
  20. bore — to tire
  21. last — to go on
  22. club — for golf
  23. race — humankind
  24. last — final

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