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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: club · shower · field · race · object · cue · wind · bass

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. object — a thing
  5. bass — low music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. field — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. object — to protest
  12. cue — a hint
  13. race — the arms race
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cue — for pool
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. shower — rain
  22. object — an aim
  23. cue — a signal
  24. club — for golf

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