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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. can — a tin
  4. race — a contest
  5. fall — to drop
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. field — farmland
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — a subject
  14. can — a tin
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. field — for sport
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. can — to be able to
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — the animal
  23. race — humankind
  24. fall — the season

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