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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. field — a subject
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rule — a law
  8. rush — hurry
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — farmland
  13. game — a match
  14. cue — a signal
  15. field — for sport
  16. current — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. rule — government
  19. cue — for pool
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. current — electric

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