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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. field — for sport
  3. game — a match
  4. field — farmland
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. tube — a container
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a line of people
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. cap — a hat
  16. file — a tool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tube — the underground
  19. field — a subject
  20. foot — a measure
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — of ice
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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