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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 do anything ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lean — thin
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. race — humankind
  8. lie — to recline
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rash — a series
  18. scale — in music
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. bulb — for light
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. race — a contest

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