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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. field — for sport
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. band — a ring
  12. pitch — completely
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. file — a line of people
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. band — a music group
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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