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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. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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. ground — a position
  4. drill — the tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. race — humankind
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ground — the earth
  9. field — farmland
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. drill — a practice
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. race — the arms race
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ground — crushed
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. drill — army training

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