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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: coach · straw · field · jam · pitcher · track · court · branch

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. court — of law
  6. track — a song
  7. field — a subject
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. field — farmland
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — of a king
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — for sport
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. branch — a division
  21. court — for sport
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. track — a path
  24. jam — a tight spot

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