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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 120 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
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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: trunk · content · spell · ball · field · rest · file · straw

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — a subject
  4. spell — a short time
  5. content — the amount
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. file — a document
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ball — a dance
  17. spell — magic
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. field — farmland
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. file — a tool
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spell — letters

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