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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a line of people
  5. field — farmland
  6. file — a document
  7. bass — low music
  8. field — a subject
  9. firm — steady
  10. lean — thin
  11. net — in sport
  12. land — to come down
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. firm — a company
  17. file — a tool
  18. land — ground
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. firm — decided
  22. net — after costs
  23. land — a country
  24. net — for catching

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