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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. field — for sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. root — of a plant
  10. kid — to tease
  11. root — of a word
  12. field — farmland
  13. pit — in a race
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. root — the cause
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — moving air
  24. field — a subject

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