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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · wound · bay · cell · rest · field · file · cap

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rest — a break
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — a subject
  9. file — a document
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. cap — a hat
  14. file — a tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. field — for sport

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