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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: ruler · fall · field · cell · can · straw · land · leaves

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cell — a phone
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. land — ground
  6. can — to be able to
  7. land — to come down
  8. field — for sport
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. can — a tin
  14. land — a country
  15. fall — to drop
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. can — a tin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. fall — to drop

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