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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. row — a line
  3. key — in music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. row — to paddle
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. last — to go on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — farmland
  18. last — finally
  19. field — a subject
  20. fine — all right
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — final
  23. fine — high quality
  24. tear — to rip

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