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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 · squash · fall · cabinet · court · field · object · pop

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. pop — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fall — the season
  5. field — a subject
  6. court — of law
  7. race — humankind
  8. field — for sport
  9. fall — to drop
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. object — an aim
  13. pop — to visit
  14. object — a thing
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pop — soda
  18. object — to protest
  19. squash — to crush
  20. court — for sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — a contest
  24. fall — to drop

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