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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: field · file · arm · net · drill · rest · ball · rash

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. net — after costs
  3. ball — a great time
  4. net — in sport
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rash — a series
  8. drill — a practice
  9. file — a document
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rest — what's left
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rest — a break
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. drill — army training
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. drill — the tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rest — what's left

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