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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. field — for sport
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — farmland
  11. race — a contest
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — a division
  17. kick — in football
  18. pit — a hole
  19. race — the arms race
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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