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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 124 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bound — obliged
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. race — humankind
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bound — tied together
  10. present — a gift
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. fine — high quality
  14. spring — a coil
  15. present — the time now
  16. bound — certain
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a document
  19. fine — all right
  20. present — there
  21. field — farmland
  22. fall — the season
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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