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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 didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. track — a song
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — a phone
  8. race — a contest
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — farmland
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. field — a subject
  13. band — a music group
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a path
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — for baseball

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