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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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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: cell · rest · field · straw · racket · fall · stand · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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. rest — what's left
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — for sport
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — farmland
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — a subject
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cell — a phone

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