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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: field · lean · file · staff · bass · rash · rule · shower

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bass — the fish
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. field — a subject
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. file — a line of people
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — to wash
  18. file — a tool
  19. rash — hasty
  20. file — a document
  21. rash — a series
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. rash — on the skin

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