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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cap — of ice
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — the season
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a hat
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rash — a series
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — a break
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rest — what's left
  24. race — the arms race

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