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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. field — farmland
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — the most important part
  12. band — a music group
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. race — humankind
  17. band — a ring
  18. field — for sport
  19. foot — a measure
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. key — in music

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