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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. foot — a measure
  3. field — for sport
  4. mark — a grade
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pit — in a race
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bank — for money
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bank — for money
  17. deal — to handle
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bank — of a river
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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