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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. field — a subject
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. can — to be able to
  18. scale — in music
  19. field — farmland
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. saw — the tool
  22. scale — size or range
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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