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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — thin
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. can — a tin
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. field — farmland
  9. lean — to bend
  10. march — the month
  11. can — a tin
  12. march — the month
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. can — to be able to
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. field — for sport
  24. march — 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