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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. field — farmland
  7. key — in music
  8. row — to paddle
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. snap — to click
  12. key — the most important part
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — a line
  17. key — for a lock
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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