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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. can — a tin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — for sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. can — to be able to
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kick — in football
  16. field — a subject
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. can — a tin
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bay — a part 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