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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.

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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. swing — in golf
  3. field — a subject
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — farmland
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bound — tied together
  10. race — humankind
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. race — a contest
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. swing — music
  18. bound — certain
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bound — obliged
  24. swing — to play on

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