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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 124 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. firm — decided
  3. march — the month
  4. firm — steady
  5. mug — to rob
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. field — for sport
  9. board — to get on
  10. march — music
  11. firm — a company
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mug — a cup
  15. march — the month
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mug — a face
  18. stem — to come from
  19. board — a committee
  20. file — a document
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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