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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. lean — to bend
  3. shower — rain
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. field — farmland
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ball — a dance
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — for measuring

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