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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. face — to point toward
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. face — to confront
  13. rash — hasty
  14. field — for sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. face — part of the head
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pop — soda

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