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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. field — a subject
  3. land — ground
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a tool
  6. pit — in a race
  7. race — a contest
  8. key — the most important part
  9. squash — the sport
  10. file — a line of people
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. land — a country
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — to come down
  17. key — in music
  18. field — for sport
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. race — humankind
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. file — a document

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