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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mate — to breed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — a friend
  6. field — for sport
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pop — to visit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pop — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mate — a partner

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