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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 120 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. field — a subject
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. field — farmland
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a line of people
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. tear — from crying
  12. file — a document
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. file — a tool
  15. tear — from crying
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. game — a match
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. tear — to rip
  23. game — wild animals
  24. racket — for tennis

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