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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. field — for sport
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. file — a document
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — a subject
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. ball — a dance
  10. file — a tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. lean — thin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. field — farmland
  18. lean — to bend
  19. root — of a plant
  20. file — a line of people
  21. root — of a word
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. ball — a great time
  24. root — the cause

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