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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: field · ball · straw · snap · chip · safe · bat · file

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chip — to eat
  9. field — farmland
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. snap — to click
  16. ball — a great time
  17. field — a subject
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. bat — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. ball — a dance
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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