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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 · craft · current · lie · spell · pitch · straw · kid

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lie — to recline
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. craft — boats
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. craft — a skill
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. field — farmland
  19. current — of water
  20. kid — child
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. spell — letters
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. spell — magic

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