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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 116 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. ball — a great time
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — in biology
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — government
  10. race — a contest
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — for sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rule — a law
  18. squash — to crush
  19. race — humankind
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a dance
  24. lean — to rest against

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