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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. key — in music
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. pound — a weight
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. key — for a lock
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. foot — a measure
  14. field — farmland
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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