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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mate — a friend
  4. file — a line of people
  5. field — farmland
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mate — to breed
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. race — humankind
  10. field — a subject
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. race — a contest
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a document
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — for sport

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