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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 116 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: tear · race · field · rock · bowl · scale · ground · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. field — for sport
  3. ground — the earth
  4. snap — to click
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ground — a position
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. scale — in music
  15. rock — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — a stone
  18. race — the arms race
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. field — farmland
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. tear — to rip
  23. scale — size or range
  24. field — a subject

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