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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. swing — in golf
  3. march — the month
  4. swing — to play on
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. court — of a king
  8. field — a subject
  9. swing — music
  10. game — wild animals
  11. court — of law
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. fine — all right
  14. field — for sport
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. court — for sport
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. field — farmland
  19. fine — high quality
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. game — a match

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