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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — after costs
  6. lean — to bend
  7. field — for sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. wax — to grow
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lean — thin

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