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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — for sport
  3. drill — a practice
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. charge — in control
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — farmland
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — a subject
  14. prune — to trim
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stock — shares
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. drill — the tool
  19. charge — a price
  20. perch — the fish
  21. row — a line
  22. prune — to trim
  23. charge — electricity
  24. row — to paddle

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