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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. key — the most important part
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. current — of water
  7. scale — in music
  8. current — happening now
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. current — electric
  12. key — for a lock
  13. field — for sport
  14. key — in music
  15. file — a document
  16. field — a subject
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pit — in a race
  22. field — farmland
  23. pit — a hole
  24. scale — size or range

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