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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. band — a ring
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — farmland
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitch — completely
  18. field — a subject
  19. craft — boats
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. field — for sport
  24. band — a music group

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