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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cap — a lid
  3. field — a subject
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — the earth
  8. chair — a leader
  9. land — a country
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ground — a position
  13. field — farmland
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ground — crushed
  18. race — a contest
  19. cap — a hat
  20. track — a path
  21. field — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. track — a song
  24. race — humankind

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