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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. field — farmland
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. plane — a tool
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. field — a subject
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hand — help

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