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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. club — for golf
  3. fork — in a road
  4. row — a line
  5. club — for dancing
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. season — in sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — to paddle
  17. club — a group
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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