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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. field — for sport
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. craft — boats
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. field — a subject
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wax — to grow
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. field — farmland
  16. craft — a skill
  17. lean — to bend
  18. game — a match
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. game — wild animals
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lean — thin

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