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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: straw · field · staff · mate · pop · fall · racket · nail

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pop — soda
  4. field — for sport
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fall — to drop
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. staff — employees
  17. pop — to visit
  18. staff — employees
  19. pop — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. staff — a stick
  22. mate — to breed
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. fall — the season

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