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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. bank — of a river
  7. mate — to breed
  8. last — to go on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bank — for money
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. last — final
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bank — for money
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — finally
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — the earth
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rule — a law

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