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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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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: race · fall · field · stand · land · drill · straw · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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 document
  2. field — farmland
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a tool
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fall — the season
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. land — ground
  11. file — a line of people
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stand — to bear
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — to come down
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — a contest
  20. land — a country
  21. field — for sport
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. drill — a practice
  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