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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 120 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rash — a series
  3. ground — a position
  4. rock — music
  5. race — a contest
  6. bark — to shout
  7. club — for golf
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. capital — a city
  11. rash — hasty
  12. field — for sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. race — the arms race
  15. capital — money
  16. ground — crushed
  17. club — for dancing
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — humankind
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. club — a group
  23. field — farmland
  24. bark — of a tree

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