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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 116 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: field · fall · file · court · drill · straw · stock · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. drill — a practice
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. field — for sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — the season
  9. court — of a king
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. stock — shares
  15. court — of law
  16. stock — goods
  17. field — farmland
  18. fall — to drop
  19. file — a tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. file — a line of people
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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