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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: file · kid · field · mine · wake · leaves · mate · pitcher

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. field — for sport
  4. file — a tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wake — a trail
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. kid — to tease
  13. field — a subject
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. file — a document
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mine — an explosive

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