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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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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: arm · race · file · field · safe · row · fall · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — for sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. fall — the season
  9. race — a contest
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. file — a tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. field — a subject
  24. row — a quarrel

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