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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 120 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: foot · field · mine · straw · stick · tube · march · craft

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — a container
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. craft — boats
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. field — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. foot — a measure
  11. field — farmland
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. craft — a skill
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. field — a subject
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. craft — a handicraft

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