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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. suit — in cards
  4. field — farmland
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. can — a tin
  7. drill — the tool
  8. suit — clothes
  9. field — a subject
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. race — a contest
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cell — a phone
  18. field — for sport
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — army training
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — a tin
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. can — to be able to

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