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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. last — final
  3. swing — music
  4. field — for sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. file — a document
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. swing — in golf
  19. last — to go on
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bulb — for light
  22. face — to point toward
  23. file — a line of people
  24. field — farmland

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