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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rash — a series
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. track — a song
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. spring — of water
  12. track — a path
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spring — the season
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitch — completely
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. vault — a safe
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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