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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. race — humankind
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. bank — for money
  7. bass — low music
  8. kid — child
  9. field — for sport
  10. bank — for money
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bank — of a river
  14. lean — to bend
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. race — the arms race
  17. spell — a short time
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. spell — letters
  21. race — a contest
  22. spell — magic
  23. lean — thin
  24. saw — the tool

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