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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: file · straw · rash · fall · sharp · deal · field · racket

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. sharp — clever
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fall — the season
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — to drop
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. file — a document
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. file — a tool
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rash — a series

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