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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. row — a line
  4. race — humankind
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. field — farmland
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. race — a contest
  11. row — to paddle
  12. field — a subject
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rule — government
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rule — a law
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. racket — for tennis

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