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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. field — farmland
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. swing — to play on
  12. present — a gift
  13. swing — music
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. swing — in golf
  18. present — the time now
  19. field — a subject
  20. fork — in a road
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — a thing
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. object — an aim

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