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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mug — a cup
  7. field — farmland
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pop — soda
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — music
  12. spell — a short time
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. spell — magic
  17. field — for sport
  18. mug — a face
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mug — to rob
  22. race — a contest
  23. spring — of water
  24. race — humankind

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