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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. charge — a price
  4. row — to paddle
  5. object — to protest
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. field — a subject
  8. fork — in a road
  9. race — a contest
  10. charge — electricity
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. object — an aim
  14. charge — in control
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. row — a line
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. object — a thing
  23. race — humankind
  24. field — farmland

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