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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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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — army training
  6. object — a thing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mark — a trace
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. object — to protest
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mark — a grade
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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