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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: straw · drill · stem · field · jam · file · cell · rush

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. file — a line of people
  3. drill — army training
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. drill — a practice
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. stem — to come from
  12. file — a document
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. drill — the tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. file — a tool
  23. rush — hurry
  24. stem — a stem cell

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