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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. toast — bread
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. field — farmland
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pit — a hole
  11. present — a gift
  12. race — humankind
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. present — the time now
  16. last — final
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. present — there
  19. field — for sport
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pit — in a race
  23. race — a contest
  24. bass — low music

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