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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: field · shower · firm · pitch · pitcher · prune · craft · straw

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. firm — a company
  7. prune — to trim
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitch — completely
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. craft — boats
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. firm — decided
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. shower — to wash
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. firm — steady
  24. 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