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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — farmland
  5. bass — the fish
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — a subject
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bass — low music
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. field — for sport
  13. net — in sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. net — for catching
  18. bulb — for light
  19. net — after costs
  20. tear — to rip
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — in sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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