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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lean · court · nail · game · kid · file · field · row

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. game — a match
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. row — to paddle
  5. field — for sport
  6. lean — to bend
  7. row — a line
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kid — child
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. lean — thin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. field — farmland
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. game — wild animals
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. court — of law

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