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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — a video
  6. mark — a trace
  7. race — a contest
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — decided
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — a subject
  14. firm — a company
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rock — music
  23. field — farmland
  24. mark — a grade

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