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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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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. track — a path
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. field — a subject
  9. track — a song
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. lean — to bend
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. track — to keep track
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hand — help
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. lean — thin
  24. field — for sport

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