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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. field — for sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — a company
  9. race — humankind
  10. club — for golf
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — farmland
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. race — a contest
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. race — the arms race
  24. firm — steady

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