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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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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: field · race · bear · firm · wind · spell

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. race — a contest
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. field — farmland
  6. firm — steady
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. spell — magic
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — humankind
  14. wind — moving air
  15. firm — decided
  16. bear — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. firm — a company

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