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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: squash · chest · mug · tear · race · ground · field · dip

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. field — for sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. mug — a face
  10. ground — a position
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mug — a cup
  13. race — a contest
  14. field — farmland
  15. mug — to rob
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. squash — to crush
  22. race — humankind
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — crushed

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