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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — a subject
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — decided
  9. field — for sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — the season
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. field — farmland
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — in a race
  22. kick — in football
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. race — a contest

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