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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bulb — for light
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. row — to paddle
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — for sport
  11. row — a line
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — for light
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. field — a subject
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. field — farmland
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. clip — to cut

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