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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: cell · race · field · cabinet · ground · stick

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. field — for sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cell — in biology
  5. field — a subject
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — farmland
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cell — in a prison

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