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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: mine · object · mate · file · ball · race · squash · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. race — a contest
  5. object — a thing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — humankind
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. field — farmland
  11. object — to protest
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mate — a friend
  14. field — a subject
  15. object — an aim
  16. file — a tool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mate — a partner
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ball — a round shape

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