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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
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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: bear · straw · squash · field · spell · file · cue · wound

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. spell — magic
  5. file — a document
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — farmland
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cue — for pool
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. wound — an injury
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. squash — the sport
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cue — a signal
  19. field — a subject
  20. file — a tool
  21. spell — letters
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cue — a hint

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