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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. craft — boats
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. board — a committee
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. pit — a hole
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mate — a partner
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mate — a friend
  21. file — a document
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — to get on
  24. field — farmland

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