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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — to cut
  10. field — for sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. fall — the season
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. bass — the fish
  21. clip — a video
  22. key — for a lock
  23. mate — a friend
  24. key — in music

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