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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. race — humankind
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. field — a subject
  7. band — a ring
  8. file — a tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. file — a document
  12. current — electric
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. race — the arms race
  17. field — farmland
  18. current — of water
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. race — a contest
  21. fork — in a road
  22. current — happening now
  23. band — a music group
  24. root — of a word

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