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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 124 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. lean — to bend
  8. firm — decided
  9. key — the most important part
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. hand — help
  14. key — in music
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — steady
  19. lean — thin
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. field — a subject
  22. spell — magic
  23. wake — a trail
  24. hand — in cards

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