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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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. rest — what's left
  4. race — a contest
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. squash — to crush
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rest — a break
  10. file — a document
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. field — farmland
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. race — the arms race
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. race — humankind
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fine — high quality
  24. nail — for a hammer

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