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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. club — for golf
  5. shower — rain
  6. club — a group
  7. ground — the earth
  8. shower — to wash
  9. track — a song
  10. fine — high quality
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fine — all right
  14. ground — crushed
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — a subject
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. field — farmland
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. field — for sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. club — for dancing
  24. track — a path

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