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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: nail · field · file · bay · branch · saw · roll · pitcher

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a document
  6. roll — a cake
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. field — a subject
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. file — a tool
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. roll — a list
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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