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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. race — humankind
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. board — a committee
  7. race — a contest
  8. stem — to come from
  9. board — to get on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. march — music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — the month
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. field — a subject
  23. march — the month
  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