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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. shower — to wash
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — happening now
  8. race — a contest
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. field — a subject
  11. current — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. current — electric
  14. plane — a tool
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — a measure
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. field — for sport
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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