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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — for sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — a match
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — a subject
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. game — wild animals

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