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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. game — wild animals
  3. file — a line of people
  4. net — in sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — of the year
  7. field — farmland
  8. track — a song
  9. net — after costs
  10. file — a tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. file — a document
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. season — in sport
  15. track — a path
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — a match
  18. track — to keep track
  19. vault — a safe
  20. field — a subject
  21. tear — to rip
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — to add flavour

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