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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. 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. leaves — lets stay
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — a stone
  5. march — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. capital — a city
  9. date — the fruit
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. rock — music
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. 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