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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: foot · wake · straw · file · patient · object · field · race

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — a trail
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. race — a contest
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. object — to protest
  9. field — a subject
  10. foot — a measure
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. race — humankind
  13. file — a document
  14. object — an aim
  15. file — a line of people
  16. race — the arms race
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. object — a thing
  24. straw — dry grass

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