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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — a lid
  3. field — a subject
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. file — a document
  7. face — to point toward
  8. file — a tool
  9. cap — a hat
  10. face — to confront
  11. field — farmland
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. race — a contest
  14. face — part of the head
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — for sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bound — tied together
  23. lie — to recline
  24. land — ground

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