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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. key — for a lock
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — for sport
  7. mate — to breed
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — the season
  13. race — the arms race
  14. date — the fruit
  15. race — a contest
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — a subject
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. race — humankind

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