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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 ________________ took off on time.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. charge — a price
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. field — farmland
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. plane — a tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. board — to get on
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. charge — electricity
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. charge — in control
  24. trunk — of a tree

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