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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: file · field · ruler · hand · pop · ball · coach · row

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pop — soda
  3. row — a line
  4. hand — help
  5. row — to paddle
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. pop — music
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. file — a document
  10. field — a subject
  11. file — a tool
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ball — a dance
  14. file — a line of people
  15. ball — a great time
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pop — to visit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. field — for sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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