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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — for sport
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. hand — help
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lean — to bend
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. field — a subject
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. file — a tool
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. file — a line of people

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