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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. field — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. field — a subject
  6. land — ground
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. file — a document
  9. current — electric
  10. field — farmland
  11. current — of water
  12. land — a country
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. land — to come down
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. file — a tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bear — the animal
  23. current — happening now
  24. cell — in biology

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