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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: cabinet · bowl · field · face · spring · straw · land · ruler

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. land — a country
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. field — for sport
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spring — a coil
  11. face — to point toward
  12. land — ground
  13. field — farmland
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. spring — of water
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. land — to come down
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. field — a subject
  24. spring — 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