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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: present · field · chest · wave · race · cue

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — for sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. chest — a box
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — for pool
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — farmland
  11. present — there
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — humankind
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. race — the arms race
  16. field — a subject
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cue — a signal

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