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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. content — happy
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — goods
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. field — for sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. track — a path
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. track — a song
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. stock — shares
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. track — to keep track
  22. content — the amount
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hide — animal skin

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