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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: race · roll · bat · chair · bulb · rock · rest · field

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. roll — a list
  6. race — humankind
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. race — a contest
  10. rest — a break
  11. roll — a cake
  12. field — for sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rest — what's left
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. field — a subject
  19. rock — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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