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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. file — a document
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. race — humankind
  7. ball — a great time
  8. race — the arms race
  9. roll — a list
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — farmland
  12. roll — a cake
  13. ball — a dance
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hand — help
  18. race — a contest
  19. hand — in cards
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a tool
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. field — a subject

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