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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 · pitcher · march · cabinet · stick · suit · straw · hand

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. suit — clothes
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hand — help
  6. march — music
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — a subject
  23. march — the month
  24. suit — in cards

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