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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. field — for sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. race — the arms race
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. file — a document
  12. board — to get on
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kick — in football
  15. race — a contest
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cell — in biology
  18. race — humankind
  19. ground — crushed
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. board — a committee

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