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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 · field · lean · pitcher · fall · mark · straw · leaves

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — farmland
  4. lean — thin
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. lean — to bend
  7. field — for sport
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. fall — the season
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mark — a trace
  24. straw — a straw man

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