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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. firm — a company
  5. field — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wake — a trail
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — temperature
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. degree — an amount
  18. field — farmland
  19. degree — from a university
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. race — the arms race
  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