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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 · field · bank · tear · straw · cabinet · bound · bulb

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. bound — certain
  14. bank — for money
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. file — a tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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