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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cap — of ice
  3. field — for sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. field — a subject
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cap — a lid
  14. field — farmland
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a line
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rash — a series
  23. cap — a hat
  24. march — the month

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