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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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 — dry grass
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rock — music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — to drop
  10. staff — employees
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. scale — in music
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fall — the season
  20. field — farmland
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rock — a stone
  23. staff — a stick
  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