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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pit — in a race
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wake — a trail
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. swing — to play on
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chip — for betting
  11. field — farmland
  12. spell — magic
  13. swing — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. pit — a hole
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chip — to eat
  24. field — a subject

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