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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: firm · squash · rule · sharp · track · straw · field · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rule — a law
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. field — farmland
  6. track — a path
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. squash — the sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rule — government
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. field — a subject
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. firm — a company
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. firm — decided
  20. sharp — clever
  21. firm — steady
  22. field — for sport
  23. bear — the animal
  24. track — a song

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