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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. field — for sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bound — certain
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bound — tied together
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. shower — rain
  19. branch — a division
  20. shower — to wash
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — a subject
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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