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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. file — a document
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — a subject
  7. saw — the tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. field — for sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. shower — rain
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — money
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rush — hurry
  17. saw — the tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — help
  20. file — a tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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