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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. board — a committee
  3. field — a subject
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. race — a contest
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mine — for digging
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. race — humankind
  17. rush — hurry
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. spell — letters
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. spell — magic
  24. stem — of a plant

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