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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. track — a path
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. branch — a division
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. kick — in football
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. track — a song
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. track — to keep track
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pitch — completely
  24. perch — the fish

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