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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. court — for sport
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. march — the month
  8. season — of the year
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. season — in sport
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. court — of a king
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. straw — dry grass

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