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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · race · roll · straw · date · snap · rush · wound

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. race — a contest
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. race — the arms race
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. roll — a cake
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. field — farmland
  10. race — humankind
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. snap — to click
  14. field — for sport
  15. roll — a list
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. date — the fruit
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — an injury

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