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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — humankind
  5. cap — a hat
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. cap — of ice
  8. last — final
  9. chip — to eat
  10. field — farmland
  11. chip — for betting
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — a subject
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cap — a lid
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. wound — an injury
  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