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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. charge — electricity
  4. game — wild animals
  5. race — a contest
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. race — humankind
  13. shower — to wash
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. game — a match
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. object — to protest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. shower — rain
  24. game — a kind of play

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