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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: deal · wind · rock · spell · object · race · field · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. spell — letters
  3. field — a subject
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. object — to protest
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. field — farmland
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rock — music
  11. field — for sport
  12. mug — a cup
  13. rock — a stone
  14. race — the arms race
  15. object — a thing
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. object — an aim
  21. deal — to handle
  22. mug — a face
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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