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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bound — certain
  4. field — farmland
  5. roll — a cake
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bound — obliged
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fine — high quality
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — a subject
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fine — all right
  17. field — for sport
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. roll — a list
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. file — a document

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