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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: race · firm · club · cold · pop · field · ruler · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. field — for sport
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pop — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — humankind
  7. field — farmland
  8. firm — steady
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. field — a subject
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — a country
  14. firm — a company
  15. race — a contest
  16. club — a group
  17. pop — soda
  18. cold — an illness
  19. club — for golf
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cold — not warm
  22. firm — decided
  23. race — the arms race
  24. land — to come down

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