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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 116 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — for sport
  5. mug — a face
  6. race — a contest
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. mug — a cup
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ball — a dance
  21. fall — the season
  22. staff — employees
  23. mug — to rob
  24. staff — employees

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