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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — farmland
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. season — in sport
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stand — to bear
  17. hand — help
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. field — a subject
  24. prune — to trim

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