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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: file · content · rash · ground · wind · squash · rule · field

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. file — a tool
  3. rule — a law
  4. rash — a series
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. field — farmland
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — happy
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. squash — the sport
  18. content — the amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. file — a document
  21. ground — a position
  22. rash — hasty
  23. ground — crushed
  24. rule — government

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