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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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Word bank
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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: kid · trunk · board · race · field · sharp

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — child
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. sharp — clever
  5. board — to get on
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. board — a committee
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race

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