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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. spell — magic
  10. mark — a trace
  11. spell — letters
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spell — a short time
  14. game — a match
  15. snap — to click
  16. race — humankind
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. mark — a grade
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. game — wild animals
  23. field — farmland
  24. lash — an eyelash

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