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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — for sport
  3. track — a path
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. chip — to eat
  16. saw — the tool
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. track — to keep track
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. track — a song
  24. swing — music

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