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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. race — humankind
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — to fit
  8. lean — thin
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — not warm
  11. field — for sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. race — a contest
  17. lean — to bend
  18. chip — for betting
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. field — farmland
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pop — music
  24. race — the arms race

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