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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
468
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 · field · capital · fan · saw · degree · leaves · lash

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. capital — money
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. degree — from a university
  10. race — humankind
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. capital — a city
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. race — a contest
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — for sport
  24. leaves — to go away

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