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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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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fine — high quality
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — the month
  7. fine — all right
  8. game — a match
  9. rock — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. march — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rock — a stone
  18. straw — a straw man

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