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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 116 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: nail · fall · race · chair · cabinet · fork · bear · field

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. field — for sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — a leader
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. field — farmland
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bear — the animal
  24. fork — a garden tool

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