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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: bowl · field · trunk · pitch · straw · fine · wound · rock

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rock — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. field — a subject
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fine — all right
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. field — farmland
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitch — completely
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rock — a stone
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fine — high quality
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bowl — a football final

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