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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — a subject
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. roll — a list
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. craft — boats
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a document
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. jam — in traffic

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