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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. file — a document
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. march — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. fall — the season
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. march — the month
  15. file — a line of people
  16. field — farmland
  17. shower — rain
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — in a race
  24. file — a 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