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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a line of people
  5. content — the amount
  6. march — music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ground — the earth
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. field — for sport
  14. ground — a position
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a document
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — army training
  22. field — farmland
  23. content — happy
  24. field — a subject

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