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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. key — for a lock
  3. field — a subject
  4. ground — a position
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — crushed
  8. file — a document
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. key — in music
  13. field — farmland
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. branch — a division
  18. field — for sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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