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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. vault — a safe
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. field — for sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. row — a line
  13. present — there
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stock — shares
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. drill — a practice
  18. present — the time now
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. present — a gift
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. drill — army training
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — farmland

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