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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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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: straw · toast · bear · bat · fork · can · field · cap

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. field — a subject
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. can — a tin
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cap — a lid
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bat — the animal
  23. toast — bread
  24. cap — of ice

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