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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — final
  6. field — for sport
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. field — farmland
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. last — finally
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. file — a document
  17. tube — a container
  18. chest — a box
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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