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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stock — shares
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rule — a law
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. rule — government
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. squash — the sport
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. lean — thin
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. capital — a city
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. field — farmland
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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