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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — a subject
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. band — a ring
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. field — farmland
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. fine — all right
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. field — for sport
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. band — a music group
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. straw — a straw man

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