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

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — for sport
  4. file — a document
  5. field — farmland
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. date — the fruit
  9. field — a subject
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. file — a tool
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. stock — goods
  17. current — happening now
  18. rule — to rule out

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