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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. row — to paddle
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — a subject
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. branch — a division
  12. row — a line
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — help
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spell — magic
  19. field — for sport
  20. fine — high quality
  21. spell — letters
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. fine — all right
  24. field — farmland

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