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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: staff · field · mate · race · net · deal · rush · band

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. net — after costs
  3. field — a subject
  4. net — in sport
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. race — humankind
  7. mate — a friend
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. band — a ring
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mate — to breed
  14. band — a music group
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. deal — to handle
  20. staff — a stick
  21. mate — a partner
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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