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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. race — humankind
  5. season — in sport
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. rest — what's left
  8. season — of the year
  9. current — electric
  10. rest — what's left
  11. current — of water
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. field — farmland
  16. current — happening now
  17. rest — a break
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. race — a contest
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. field — a subject

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