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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. march — the month
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — a subject
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — the month
  14. land — to come down
  15. field — farmland
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. land — a country
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. race — humankind

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