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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — the month
  3. last — to go on
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — farmland
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. march — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — help
  14. field — for sport
  15. last — finally
  16. craft — boats
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. perch — the fish
  22. last — final
  23. march — the month
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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