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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.

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: present · racket · row · mate · wound · key · file · field

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a line of people
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. key — for a lock
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. file — a document
  17. mate — a partner
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. present — a gift
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a tool
  22. key — in music
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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