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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. field — for sport
  5. game — a match
  6. rock — music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bulb — for light
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mate — to breed
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — farmland
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — a stone
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. field — a subject

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