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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 116 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: bound · straw · pitcher · mine · lie · present · bass · field

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bass — low music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. present — the time now
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. present — there
  9. bound — tied together
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bass — the fish
  14. field — for sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. present — a gift
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — obliged
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. field — a subject

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