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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. field — a subject
  3. bat — the animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. game — a match
  6. last — finally
  7. field — farmland
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. firm — a company
  15. mate — to breed
  16. game — wild animals
  17. firm — decided
  18. last — to go on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. firm — steady
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. last — final
  23. field — for sport
  24. mate — a friend

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