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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. staff — a stick
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rush — hurry
  10. object — to protest
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a document
  13. object — a thing
  14. field — a subject
  15. file — a line of people
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. field — farmland
  18. season — in sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. object — an aim
  21. staff — employees
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pitcher — a jug

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