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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — farmland
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. field — a subject
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. kid — child
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. field — for sport
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mark — a grade

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