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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 116 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: field · drill · racket · spell · track · clip · straw · firm

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — to cut
  3. firm — a company
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. firm — steady
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. field — farmland
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. track — a path
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. firm — decided
  24. racket — for tennis

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