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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. object — to protest
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wind — moving air
  6. date — the fruit
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — a subject
  16. object — an aim
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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