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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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 line of people
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — a subject
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pop — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. track — a path
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. track — a song
  22. file — a document
  23. fall — the season
  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