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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: bat · tear · bound · club · race · board · fork · field

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. club — for golf
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. club — a group
  11. bound — obliged
  12. board — a committee
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — for sport
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. club — for dancing
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. field — farmland
  23. fork — in a road
  24. field — a subject

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