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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: race · stock · straw · lean · date · drill · fork · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. drill — a practice
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lean — to bend
  10. race — humankind
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stock — shares
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fork — in a road
  20. field — farmland
  21. race — a contest
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. drill — army training
  24. stock — goods

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