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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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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: nail · cold · key · field · sharp · stock · swing · race

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. swing — in golf
  3. race — humankind
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. key — the most important part
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. stock — goods
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stock — shares
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — for sport
  19. race — a contest
  20. swing — to play on
  21. key — in music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. race — the arms race
  24. key — for a lock

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