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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. object — a thing
  5. track — a path
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. swing — music
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bat — the animal
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. row — a line
  17. swing — in golf
  18. object — to protest
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. field — for sport
  21. swing — to play on
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. track — a song

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