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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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468
Word bank
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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a document
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mate — to breed
  13. land — to come down
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. mate — a friend
  21. kid — to tease
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. field — for sport
  24. kid — child

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