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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rest — a break
  4. present — a gift
  5. file — a document
  6. face — part of the head
  7. band — a music group
  8. field — a subject
  9. present — there
  10. face — to point toward
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — what's left
  15. face — to confront
  16. present — the time now
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rest — what's left

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