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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. field — a subject
  3. mug — a face
  4. race — humankind
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pop — soda
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pop — to visit
  16. ground — the earth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — farmland
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — for sport
  22. mug — to rob
  23. rest — a break
  24. drill — a practice

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