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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: field · fork · straw · cold · staff · key · rush · rash

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. key — the most important part
  5. field — a subject
  6. key — in music
  7. field — for sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rush — hurry
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — an illness
  15. field — farmland
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. staff — employees
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. staff — a stick
  23. key — for a lock
  24. staff — employees

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