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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. track — a song
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a line
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. field — a subject
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rest — a break
  19. field — farmland
  20. track — a path
  21. race — a contest
  22. drill — army training
  23. race — humankind
  24. row — a quarrel

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