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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · field · safe · race · fan · rash · clip · cabinet

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — a video
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rash — hasty
  8. court — of a king
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — for sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. race — a contest
  14. field — farmland
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. rash — a series
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. court — of law
  24. race — humankind

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