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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. mug — a face
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — a division
  5. field — farmland
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mug — to rob
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. field — for sport
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mug — a cup
  15. firm — a company
  16. rest — what's left
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. firm — steady
  20. rest — a break
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — a video
  23. firm — decided
  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