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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: race · rash · tube · leaves · field · fan · kick · sharp

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rash — a series
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. tube — the underground
  9. rash — hasty
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — farmland
  12. race — the arms race
  13. field — a subject
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. kick — in football
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — a contest
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. tube — a container
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. tube — in a tire

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