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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. race — humankind
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — for sport
  5. race — the arms race
  6. charge — in control
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. field — farmland
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. charge — electricity
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. charge — a price
  22. race — a contest
  23. field — a subject
  24. file — a line of people

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