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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: game · file · lean · field · cabinet · row · ruler · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. game — a match
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. season — of the year
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. game — wild animals
  17. season — in sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. row — a line
  22. field — farmland
  23. row — to paddle
  24. file — a document

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