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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. key — the most important part
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. key — in music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — a series
  17. field — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. squash — to crush
  21. field — farmland
  22. rash — hasty
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. coach — a trainer

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