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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: saw · coach · straw · field · file · plane · ground · spring

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — a position
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spring — of water
  8. ground — crushed
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ground — the earth
  13. file — a tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — the tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. spring — the season
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. file — a document
  23. field — farmland
  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