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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 · field · pop · mark · straw · calf · file · object

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. field — for sport
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — a trace
  5. file — a line of people
  6. object — a thing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a document
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pop — music
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. file — a tool
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. field — a subject
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pop — to visit

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