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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. capital — money
  6. race — the arms race
  7. suit — clothes
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. suit — to fit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. capital — a city
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. race — a contest
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. race — humankind
  20. row — a line
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. suit — in cards

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