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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. field — farmland
  3. lean — to bend
  4. chest — a box
  5. field — for sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bass — the fish
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. field — a subject
  13. chest — of your body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. club — for dancing
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — low music
  20. club — a group
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. lean — thin
  24. arm — part of the body

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