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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. rock — music
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — a subject
  8. track — a path
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. field — farmland
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — in a road
  21. rock — a stone
  22. track — a song
  23. field — for sport
  24. wave — of the sea

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