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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. season — of the year
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — farmland
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chip — for betting
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. season — in sport
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — humankind
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. net — for catching
  23. chip — to eat
  24. field — for sport

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