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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — a subject
  4. race — a contest
  5. pit — in a race
  6. craft — boats
  7. club — for golf
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — for sport
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. club — a group
  16. cell — in biology
  17. race — humankind
  18. lean — thin
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pit — a hole
  21. field — farmland
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. race — the arms race

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