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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. snap — to click
  3. court — for sport
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. field — farmland
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — army training
  9. field — for sport
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. file — a document
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. firm — decided
  16. drill — a practice
  17. field — a subject
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. firm — a company
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. firm — steady
  23. drill — the tool
  24. court — of law

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