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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 · lash · game · mug · cell · race · cap · foot

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cap — of ice
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. game — a match
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — a contest
  12. field — for sport
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cell — in biology
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. foot — a measure
  21. game — wild animals
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mug — a face

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