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

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. track — a song
  9. field — a subject
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. track — to keep track
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. board — a committee
  16. file — a line of people
  17. branch — a division
  18. track — a path
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. board — to get on
  23. field — for sport
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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