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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. object — to protest
  3. field — farmland
  4. face — to confront
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. file — a line of people
  8. march — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — all right
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. fine — high quality
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a document
  18. face — to point toward

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