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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: fork · straw · trunk · pitcher · ground · stick · kid · stem

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — crushed
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fork — in a road
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. kid — to tease

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