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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. track — a path
  8. field — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. craft — a skill
  12. field — a subject
  13. kick — in football
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — farmland
  22. ball — a dance
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. track — a song

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