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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bark — to shout
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stand — to bear
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. field — a subject
  10. pit — a hole
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. field — farmland
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pit — in a race
  16. field — for sport
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. scale — in music

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