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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. vault — a safe
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. field — farmland
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fork — in a road
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. snap — to click
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. field — for sport
  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