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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: fall · ruler · mine · straw · cell · field

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — in biology
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fall — the season
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — for sport

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