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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.

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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: straw · can · firm · file · chest · field · capital · cue

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — a company
  4. chest — a box
  5. file — a line of people
  6. can — a tin
  7. cue — for pool
  8. capital — money
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. firm — decided
  11. cue — a signal
  12. firm — steady
  13. file — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cue — a hint
  19. field — for sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. capital — a city
  22. field — a subject
  23. file — a document
  24. chest — of your body

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