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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: game · race · rush · current · chest · bowl · band · field

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. chest — a box
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — farmland
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. race — humankind
  7. field — a subject
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chest — of your body
  10. current — of water
  11. band — a ring
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. band — a music group
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. game — a match
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — a contest
  20. rush — hurry
  21. current — electric
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. game — a kind of play

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