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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spell — magic
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. hand — help
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. field — a subject
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rock — a stone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. face — to confront
  14. field — farmland
  15. face — part of the head
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spell — letters
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rock — music
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. spell — a short time
  24. face — to point toward

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