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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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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: wind · field · fall · ruler · bank · saw

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bank — for money
  4. field — for sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bank — of a river
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. fall — the season
  13. bank — for money
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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