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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: race · rash · ground · fork · field · file · lie · nail

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. race — a contest
  3. field — a subject
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. file — a tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fork — in a road
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — for sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. field — farmland
  18. race — humankind
  19. file — a line of people
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rash — a series
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a document
  24. nail — for a hammer

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