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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: straw · file · nail · fall · wind · field · sharp · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wind — moving air
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a line of people
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. fall — the season
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. season — of the year
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a document
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — farmland
  24. season — to add flavour

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