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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — a contest
  4. mate — to breed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — a subject
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — for sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. degree — an amount
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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