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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — a group
  9. mate — a partner
  10. row — a line
  11. current — electric
  12. face — to confront
  13. club — for dancing
  14. row — to paddle
  15. file — a document
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. file — a tool
  18. current — of water
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mate — to breed
  21. current — happening now
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. club — for golf

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