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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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 — a subject
  3. staff — employees
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chair — a leader
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. field — farmland
  12. staff — a stick
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. pound — a weight
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. chair — a professorship

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