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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. plane — a tool
  4. race — the arms race
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. key — for a lock
  8. march — music
  9. race — a contest
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. key — in music
  12. season — of the year
  13. field — a subject
  14. key — the most important part
  15. field — for sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. game — wild animals
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a match
  20. season — in sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. race — humankind
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. march — the month

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