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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: sharp · straw · rule · mine · nail · charge · file · field

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — for sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rule — government
  9. file — a document
  10. field — a subject
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. charge — a price
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rule — a law
  19. file — a line of people
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — farmland
  23. sharp — clever
  24. charge — in control

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