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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. file — a tool
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. file — a document
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — farmland
  9. rest — a break
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — a series
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a line
  14. rash — hasty
  15. row — to paddle
  16. game — a match
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. field — for sport
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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