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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fall — the season
  5. rush — hurry
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. track — to keep track
  9. fall — to drop
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. chair — a leader
  13. field — farmland
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. track — a song
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a document
  21. track — a path
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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