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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 120 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: wound · ground · file · field · stand · rash · straw · stick

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. field — for sport
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — to bear
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. file — a tool
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rash — a series
  19. file — a document
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — farmland
  23. rash — hasty
  24. ground — a position

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