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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. file — a line of people
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — a subject
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. race — humankind
  12. dip — to sink
  13. file — a document
  14. season — of the year
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — boats
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. craft — a handicraft

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