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

Word bank: kick · field · wind · straw · trunk · present

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. present — the time now
  5. field — for sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. present — a gift
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. present — there
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. field — farmland

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