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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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. field — a subject
  2. fork — in a road
  3. file — a tool
  4. field — farmland
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. march — music
  7. file — a document
  8. stock — shares
  9. mug — to rob
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mug — a face
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. squash — to crush
  19. field — for sport
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — the month
  23. mug — a cup
  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