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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. craft — a skill
  3. face — to point toward
  4. field — farmland
  5. craft — boats
  6. file — a tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. file — a document
  11. field — a subject
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. branch — a division
  15. face — part of the head
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — the sport
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. squash — to crush
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pass — a permit
  23. face — to confront
  24. pound — for dogs

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