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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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. staff — employees
  4. pit — in a race
  5. staff — employees
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spring — of water
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pit — a hole
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. file — a tool
  15. staff — a stick
  16. spring — the season
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. fork — in a road
  20. field — a subject
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. field — farmland
  24. current — happening now

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