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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: kid · wave · race · field · tear · cue

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. field — farmland
  2. race — the arms race
  3. kid — child
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. tear — from crying
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — to rip
  9. field — a subject
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. race — humankind
  13. field — for sport
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — from crying
  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