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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. scale — size or range
  10. file — a tool
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. face — to point toward
  15. field — farmland
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. scale — in music
  21. field — for sport
  22. face — to confront
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — a jug

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