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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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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. present — the time now
  6. field — for sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — a subject
  10. net — for catching
  11. kick — in football
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. field — farmland
  18. present — a gift
  19. file — a document
  20. prune — to trim
  21. net — in sport
  22. present — there
  23. net — after costs
  24. prune — to trim

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