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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. field — a subject
  3. game — a match
  4. race — a contest
  5. key — for a lock
  6. field — for sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. race — the arms race
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — humankind
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fork — in a road
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. field — farmland
  23. key — in music
  24. wave — of the sea

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