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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: scale · field · temple · file · last · chest · rest · straw

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. field — for sport
  5. last — to go on
  6. file — a document
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — finally
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. rest — what's left
  14. field — farmland
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rest — a break
  19. last — final
  20. file — a tool
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. rest — what's left

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