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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — farmland
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. last — to go on
  13. cap — of ice
  14. field — for sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. field — a subject
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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