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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a tool
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spell — a short time
  10. field — farmland
  11. spell — letters
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chip — to eat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spell — magic
  21. mate — a partner
  22. field — a subject
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cell — in biology

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