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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · ball · field · row · wind · leaves · file · can

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. can — a tin
  5. wind — moving air
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. row — to paddle
  8. ball — a great time
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a document
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. ball — a dance
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. can — to be able to
  23. row — a line
  24. ball — a round shape

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