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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — farmland
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. field — a subject
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. field — for sport
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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