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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. craft — a skill
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bulb — for light
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. field — farmland
  17. track — to keep track
  18. spell — letters
  19. track — a path
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. field — for sport
  22. bulb — for light
  23. track — a song
  24. spell — a short time

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