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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: swing · field · file · clip · rush · scale · fall · firm

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — to drop
  5. firm — a company
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. scale — in music
  13. rush — hurry
  14. scale — size or range
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. clip — a video
  21. file — a document
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a tool

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