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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pit — a hole
  4. field — farmland
  5. lean — thin
  6. file — a document
  7. drill — a practice
  8. current — electric
  9. lean — to bend
  10. field — a subject
  11. file — a tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fall — the season
  16. current — of water
  17. game — a match
  18. field — for sport
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. current — happening now
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — to drop

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