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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. club — for golf
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. club — for dancing
  6. field — farmland
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. field — a subject
  11. mug — a face
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cold — not warm
  14. charge — in control
  15. cold — an illness
  16. charge — a price
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mate — a partner
  19. snap — to click
  20. mate — to breed
  21. club — a group
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cold — the Cold War

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