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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. file — a document
  7. field — for sport
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — farmland
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — a subject
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. staff — employees
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cell — in biology
  16. face — part of the head
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — to confront
  19. game — a match
  20. staff — employees
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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