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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pound — a weight
  6. field — a subject
  7. net — after costs
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. net — in sport
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cap — of ice
  15. field — for sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cap — a hat
  18. file — a document
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hand — help
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fine — all right
  24. net — for catching

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