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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. field — a subject
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — a partner
  12. net — in sport
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — a contest
  18. net — for catching
  19. field — farmland
  20. race — humankind
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mate — a friend
  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