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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. track — a song
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. bore — to drill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. pit — in a race
  15. file — a document
  16. clip — a video
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. branch — a division
  19. track — a path
  20. field — farmland
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. clip — for paper

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