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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — to tease
  3. firm — decided
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. field — a subject
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. field — for sport
  10. firm — steady
  11. kid — child
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bass — low music
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. firm — a company
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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