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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. prune — to trim
  7. press — newspapers
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — a publisher
  14. file — a tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. field — farmland
  18. press — to push
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. file — a document
  22. face — part of the head
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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