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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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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 · mark · rule · ground · current · field · cold · leaves

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. file — a line of people
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. file — a document
  6. mark — a grade
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rule — a law
  14. current — happening now
  15. rule — government
  16. current — of water
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. current — electric
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. mark — a trace
  24. rule — to rule out

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