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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: tear · board · racket · saw · rock · safe · file · field

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. field — farmland
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — a subject
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. board — to get on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. board — a committee
  13. saw — the tool
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. rock — a stone
  17. saw — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. field — for sport
  20. file — a document
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a tool
  24. safe — out of danger

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