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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — hasty
  3. land — ground
  4. field — for sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. race — a contest
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. land — a country
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spring — the season
  13. field — a subject
  14. rash — a series
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spring — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. field — farmland
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. spell — letters

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