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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. staff — employees
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bank — for money
  5. staff — a stick
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bank — for money
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. land — to come down
  10. scale — size or range
  11. field — for sport
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — a subject
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fork — in a road
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. field — farmland
  21. content — happy
  22. bank — of a river
  23. scale — in music
  24. content — the amount

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