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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: straw · field · march · stick · shower · fork · rock · pit

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. field — a subject
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. march — the month
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — rain
  17. rock — music
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — dry grass

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