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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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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: cap · kick · straw · land · rest · field · stick · saw

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — for sport
  8. cap — of ice
  9. field — farmland
  10. cap — a hat
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. land — a country
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football
  19. land — ground
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. land — to come down

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