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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — to trim
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mug — a face
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. field — farmland
  23. saw — the tool
  24. field — for sport

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