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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: wake · row · rash · file · safe · straw · field · can

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. field — a subject
  3. file — a line of people
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. row — a line
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. field — for sport
  10. can — a tin
  11. file — a tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rash — hasty
  17. can — a tin
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. file — a document
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wake — a trail
  24. row — to paddle

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