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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fine — all right
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — the month
  9. fine — high quality
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fine — a penalty

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