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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: straw · spring · ruler · file · fall · squash · current · field

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. field — for sport
  3. spring — the season
  4. squash — to crush
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fall — to drop
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — electric
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. field — a subject
  13. file — a tool
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spring — a coil
  17. current — of water
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. file — a document
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a line of people

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