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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ground — a position
  5. race — humankind
  6. mark — a grade
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — letters
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. ground — the earth
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — a subject
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mark — a trace
  15. spell — a short time
  16. race — a contest
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. face — to confront
  20. spell — magic
  21. face — to point toward
  22. field — farmland
  23. stem — to come from
  24. face — part of the head

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