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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chip — to eat
  3. field — for sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. perch — the fish
  6. chip — for betting
  7. lean — thin
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. field — farmland
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bass — low music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. race — a contest
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — the arms race
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bass — the fish
  24. lean — to bend

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