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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 116 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 · rash · present · pound · race · plane · pop · rule

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pop — music
  3. rash — a series
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. present — a gift
  7. rule — government
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rule — a law
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. present — there
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. present — the time now
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pop — to visit
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — farmland
  22. plane — a tool
  23. pop — soda
  24. field — a subject

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