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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: ball · file · temple · straw · field · rule · band · tube

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — for sport
  3. rule — a law
  4. file — a tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. field — farmland
  10. ball — a dance
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. tube — a container
  14. file — a document
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. tube — the underground
  18. rule — government
  19. field — a subject
  20. file — a line of people
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ball — a great time
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. temple — side of the head

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