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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: plane · rule · kick · field · race · wound · foot · key

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — for sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. key — the most important part
  7. foot — a measure
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. race — a contest
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. kick — in football
  17. field — a subject
  18. rule — a law
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rule — government
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. race — humankind

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