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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. field — for sport
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. current — happening now
  18. file — a document
  19. net — after costs
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. file — a line of people

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