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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. file — a line of people
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — happy
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — the amount
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. staff — a stick
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. staff — employees
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. saw — the tool
  22. season — in sport
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — a subject

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