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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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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: can · clip · patient · field · rule · ground · saw · file

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. file — a document
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. can — a tin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — for sport
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — a subject
  15. file — a tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. saw — the tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. rule — a law
  21. ground — the earth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rule — government

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