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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. field — farmland
  3. file — a line of people
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. shower — to wash
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a document
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. wake — a trail
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. shower — rain
  22. chip — to eat
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chip — for betting

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