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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. file — a line of people
  3. game — wild animals
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. file — a document
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a match
  12. branch — a division
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. scale — in music
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. file — a tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. field — for sport
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. racket — a loud noise

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