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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — decided
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ground — crushed
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. file — a document
  8. field — for sport
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — the earth
  11. club — for dancing
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. roll — a list
  14. club — for golf
  15. file — a line of people
  16. roll — a cake
  17. firm — a company
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. ground — a position
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. field — a subject
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. file — a tool

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