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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · field · ground · rule · bay · stick

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. race — a contest
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rule — a law
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. race — humankind
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — government
  15. field — for sport
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — the earth

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