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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — for sport
  6. rule — government
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bass — the fish
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — a subject
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rule — a law
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — farmland
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. sharp — clever
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. sharp — with an edge

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