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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: fork · straw · pitcher · sharp · field · fine · land · rash

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. fine — high quality
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. land — ground
  6. rash — hasty
  7. land — a country
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. field — farmland
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fine — all right
  23. field — a subject
  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