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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. suit — to fit
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a line
  11. cue — a signal
  12. suit — clothes
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. spell — letters
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. suit — in cards
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. straw — dry grass

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