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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 116 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. field — farmland
  6. rock — music
  7. fine — all right
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. field — a subject
  16. season — in sport
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rock — a stone
  20. file — a tool
  21. season — of the year
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fine — high quality

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