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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. file — a line of people
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cold — not warm
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. file — a tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. field — farmland
  9. fine — all right
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. file — a document
  12. fine — high quality
  13. field — for sport
  14. perch — the fish
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — a subject
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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