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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. suit — clothes
  3. net — after costs
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — a subject
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — a contest
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bass — the fish
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to click
  18. net — for catching
  19. race — the arms race
  20. net — in sport
  21. game — a match
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. field — farmland
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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