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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. race — the arms race
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. field — farmland
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to click
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. race — humankind
  12. mark — a grade
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chest — a box
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. field — a subject
  24. chest — of your body

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