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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. hand — help
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. race — humankind
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. field — a subject
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. race — the arms race
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. field — for sport
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. leaves — to go away

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