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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. march — the month
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. field — a subject
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mug — a face
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a cup
  15. field — for sport
  16. file — a tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. field — farmland
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. file — a line of people
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — to crush

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