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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: jam · field · straw · cabinet · spell · club · clip · plane

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — a video
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. spell — a short time
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — farmland
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — letters
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. clip — to cut
  18. club — for golf
  19. spell — magic
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cabinet — ministers

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