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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. net — for catching
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bound — obliged
  4. race — humankind
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. race — the arms race
  7. field — a subject
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — child
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. net — after costs
  12. field — farmland
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. row — a line
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. squash — the sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — in sport
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bound — tied together
  21. field — for sport
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. squash — to crush
  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