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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. race — the arms race
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cue — a signal
  5. file — a tool
  6. lean — thin
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. race — humankind
  9. field — farmland
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cue — for pool
  12. race — a contest
  13. cue — a hint
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. date — the fruit
  17. file — a document
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. file — a line of people

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