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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: file · roll · hand · leaves · straw · pop · field · object

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. file — a document
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. roll — a list
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. roll — a cake
  10. field — farmland
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pop — music
  13. field — for sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — help
  16. file — a line of people
  17. object — a thing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — in cards
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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