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

Word bank: rush · dip · roll · field · chair · race

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. field — for sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. roll — a list
  5. chair — a leader
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. field — a subject
  9. dip — to sink
  10. field — farmland
  11. race — humankind
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. roll — a cake
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chair — a professorship

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