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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. field — a subject
  4. race — a contest
  5. fall — the season
  6. race — humankind
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. date — the fruit
  9. track — to keep track
  10. field — farmland
  11. board — a committee
  12. fall — to drop
  13. board — to get on
  14. bulb — for light
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. track — a song
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a path
  19. bulb — for light
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. field — for sport
  24. race — the arms race

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