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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wake — a trail
  8. race — humankind
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spell — a short time
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — a contest
  17. bound — certain
  18. stand — to bear
  19. spell — magic
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. spell — letters
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — for spectators

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