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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lean — to bend
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. swing — music
  7. lean — thin
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pop — to visit
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. drill — army training
  14. pop — music
  15. pass — a permit
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — the tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — soda
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — for sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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