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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. mug — a cup
  3. pitch — completely
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. race — humankind
  7. rash — hasty
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. field — a subject
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. field — for sport
  12. rash — a series
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mug — to rob
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. band — a music group
  18. race — a contest
  19. mug — a face
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

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