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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pit — a hole
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pit — in a race
  8. field — a subject
  9. season — in sport
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bass — low music
  13. stock — shares
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. file — a document
  19. field — farmland
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bass — the instrument

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