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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. file — a document
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. swing — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — farmland
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — to trim
  13. march — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. board — a committee
  19. field — for sport
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. file — a line of people
  22. board — to get on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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