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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: drill · pitcher · wound · straw · can · patient · field · land

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — an injury
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitcher — a jug

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