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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · lean · march · straw · wake · jam · race · field

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. lean — thin
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. net — after costs
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. race — the arms race
  12. march — music
  13. race — a contest
  14. net — for catching
  15. march — the month
  16. lean — to bend
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. race — humankind
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wake — a trail
  22. net — in sport
  23. field — for sport
  24. march — the month

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