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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. field — a subject
  3. file — a tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bass — low music
  7. cell — in biology
  8. file — a document
  9. key — in music
  10. field — for sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bass — the fish
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. key — the most important part
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. spring — of water
  22. key — for a lock
  23. field — farmland
  24. rush — a thrill

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