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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. staff — a stick
  4. tear — to rip
  5. swing — to play on
  6. field — a subject
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. staff — employees
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fine — all right
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. fine — high quality
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. prune — to trim

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