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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — a subject
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. field — farmland
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. race — the arms race
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. race — a contest
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rush — hurry
  20. race — humankind
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. land — to come down
  23. field — for sport
  24. rush — to hurry

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