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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. field — a subject
  4. saw — the tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. race — the arms race
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of law
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. file — a document
  17. race — humankind
  18. charge — a price
  19. court — for sport
  20. charge — in control
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. field — farmland

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