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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rash · straw · lean · net · sharp · chair · fork · field

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. field — farmland
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. lean — thin
  8. rash — a series
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — after costs
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. net — in sport
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fork — in a road
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rash — on the skin

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