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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 120 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: stick · club · wind · board · field · cell · race · rest

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — a subject
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — farmland
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — for sport
  9. club — a group
  10. wind — moving air
  11. board — to get on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — a contest
  14. cell — a phone
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. club — for golf
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. club — for dancing
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — humankind
  23. rest — what's left
  24. board — a committee

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