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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: cap · race · bowl · lean · field · rest · game · mouse

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rest — what's left
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lean — thin
  14. field — for sport
  15. cap — a lid
  16. race — humankind
  17. lean — to bend
  18. game — a match
  19. field — farmland
  20. cap — a hat
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cap — of ice

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