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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cap — of ice
  3. club — for golf
  4. field — a subject
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. drill — army training
  11. file — a document
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. cell — in biology
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cap — a hat
  16. drill — the tool
  17. file — a tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. field — for sport
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. club — a group

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