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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: racket · can · face · field · cell · cue · rash · straw

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cue — a hint
  10. face — part of the head
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. face — to point toward
  13. field — a subject
  14. cue — for pool
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. can — to be able to
  18. field — for sport
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. face — to confront

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