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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. field — a subject
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. band — a ring
  6. can — a tin
  7. field — farmland
  8. band — a music group
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wake — a trail
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. file — a tool
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. can — a tin
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a document
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. can — to be able to

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