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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. charge — in control
  4. swing — in golf
  5. present — there
  6. field — farmland
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. swing — to play on
  9. present — a gift
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. charge — electricity
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. lean — thin
  16. swing — music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. present — the time now
  24. lean — to bend

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