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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — a friend
  5. present — there
  6. row — to paddle
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. file — a tool
  14. mate — a partner
  15. file — a document
  16. mate — to breed
  17. row — a line
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — the time now
  20. pitch — completely
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — a gift
  23. pass — a permit
  24. field — a subject

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