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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — farmland
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. charge — electricity
  6. race — the arms race
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. field — a subject
  13. squash — to crush
  14. ground — a position
  15. current — happening now
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. charge — a price
  23. race — a contest
  24. charge — in control

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