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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. hand — in cards
  3. roll — a cake
  4. game — wild animals
  5. toast — bread
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. roll — a list
  9. file — a document
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. field — farmland
  15. lean — thin
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. file — a tool
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. field — a subject
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. lean — to bend
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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