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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. race — the arms race
  3. field — a subject
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — hasty
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. scale — in music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stock — goods
  12. wound — an injury
  13. net — in sport
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. scale — size or range
  16. race — a contest
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. net — for catching
  20. race — humankind
  21. stock — shares
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rash — a series
  24. scale — for weighing

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