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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: pitcher · prune · straw · field · wound · stand · kick · fall

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. field — for sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kick — in football
  7. stand — to bear
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. field — a subject
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — farmland
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. kick — with a leg

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