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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. race — humankind
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rule — government
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — a contest
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. race — the arms race
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. saw — the tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. rule — a law
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. field — for sport

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