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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — for golf
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — wild animals
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bulb — for light
  7. race — humankind
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — for sport
  11. game — a match
  12. rock — a stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. capital — a city
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. present — there
  17. club — a group
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bulb — for light
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rock — music
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. game — a kind of play

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