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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 124 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bound — certain
  4. field — a subject
  5. bound — obliged
  6. club — a group
  7. field — for sport
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. club — for golf
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. shower — rain
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — farmland
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — to wash
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. club — for dancing
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bound — tied together
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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