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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 120 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: hand · field · tear · stand · spell · bay · ground · file

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. ground — a position
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. ground — crushed
  6. field — a subject
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. ground — the earth
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spell — magic
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — letters
  16. stand — to bear
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. hand — in cards
  19. file — a line of people
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spell — a short time
  22. hand — help
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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