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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 120 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: lean · press · race · cold · field · saw · club · bowl

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. race — a contest
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — humankind
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. club — a group
  12. press — to push
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. field — farmland
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. press — a publisher
  19. lean — thin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. press — newspapers
  23. club — for golf
  24. lean — to bend

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