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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. firm — steady
  5. race — humankind
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. race — the arms race
  8. field — for sport
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. firm — a company
  13. club — a group
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. firm — decided
  18. cold — not warm
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. race — a contest
  22. field — farmland
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ruler — a monarch

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