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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: race · field · fall · root · clip · bound · firm · stick

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. field — a subject
  3. firm — decided
  4. race — humankind
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fall — to drop
  7. firm — steady
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — farmland
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. root — of a word
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — certain
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fall — the season
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bound — tied together
  20. race — a contest
  21. bound — obliged
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. field — for sport

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