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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. field — farmland
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. can — to be able to
  14. root — of a word
  15. can — a tin
  16. pass — a permit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pass — to succeed

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