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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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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: roll · mate · field · object · race · kick · saw · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — a subject
  4. kick — in football
  5. race — the arms race
  6. object — a thing
  7. race — humankind
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. object — an aim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. object — to protest
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — to breed
  16. roll — a list
  17. wind — moving air
  18. roll — a cake
  19. field — for sport
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. race — a contest
  22. mate — a partner
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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