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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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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 · pound · cabinet · coach · spring · squash · current · race

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — for sport
  4. race — the arms race
  5. current — of water
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. pound — a weight
  10. squash — the sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. race — a contest
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. squash — to crush
  15. race — humankind
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. spring — a coil
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. spring — of water
  24. cabinet — ministers

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