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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 120 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cap — a hat
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. last — final
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. march — the month
  10. last — finally
  11. march — music
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. last — to go on
  14. cap — a lid
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cap — of ice
  17. march — the month
  18. plane — a tool

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