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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. field — farmland
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bulb — for light
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — for sport
  10. rock — a stone
  11. race — the arms race
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mug — a cup
  16. field — a subject
  17. mug — a face
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. hand — in cards
  21. race — humankind
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mine — for digging

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