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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — from crying
  5. firm — a company
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. race — a contest
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. firm — steady
  13. tear — from crying
  14. scale — in music
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tube — a container
  19. race — humankind
  20. field — farmland
  21. firm — decided
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. field — for sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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