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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: fall · bear · can · straw · sharp · field · fine · hand

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. can — to be able to
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fall — the season
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. can — a tin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hand — help
  16. field — a subject
  17. bear — the animal
  18. can — a tin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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