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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. scale — size or range
  3. land — to come down
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. scale — in music
  13. rock — music
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. field — for sport
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. net — after costs
  20. field — farmland
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. race — a contest

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