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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · file · field · staff · drill · wind · trunk · rash

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — the tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — employees
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. file — a line of people
  13. rash — hasty
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — a series
  19. bat — the animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — farmland
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. staff — a stick
  24. field — for sport

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