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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.

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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: patient · game · present · craft · band · field · pitch · straw

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — wild animals
  10. craft — boats
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. craft — a skill
  16. present — there
  17. band — a ring
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitch — completely
  20. field — farmland
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. present — a gift
  24. band — a rubber band

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