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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. field — farmland
  3. court — of a king
  4. field — a subject
  5. track — a path
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. field — for sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. file — a tool
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. wind — moving air
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — of law
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — completely

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