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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. field — for sport
  4. fine — high quality
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rush — hurry
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — a line
  14. file — a document
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fine — all right
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. tear — to rip

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