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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. race — humankind
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — help
  4. rash — a series
  5. lean — thin
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. field — farmland
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. foot — a measure
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — for sport
  15. lean — to bend
  16. press — newspapers
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. rash — hasty
  21. current — of water
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. rash — on the skin
  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