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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. net — for catching
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. ground — crushed
  6. key — in music
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. ground — a position
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rock — a stone
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. rush — hurry
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. race — a contest
  22. ground — the earth
  23. race — the arms race
  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