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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hand — help
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. field — for sport
  5. root — the cause
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. hand — in cards
  8. foot — a measure
  9. chest — of your body
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. field — a subject
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. root — of a plant
  15. band — a ring
  16. race — the arms race
  17. root — of a word
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a music group

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