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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. rash — hasty
  3. field — for sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — to cut
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stem — to come from
  10. file — a tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rash — a series
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bank — for money
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. row — a line
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a line of people
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. bank — of a river
  22. field — a subject
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. field — farmland

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