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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: wave · field · wound · nail · stick · object · cold · race

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. race — a contest
  4. object — a thing
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. race — humankind
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. object — an aim
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. field — farmland
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cold — an illness
  17. object — to protest
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. field — for sport
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wound — an injury

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