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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. club — for golf
  4. field — for sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. club — for dancing
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a line of people
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. degree — temperature
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. field — a subject
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. club — a group

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