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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spell — letters
  3. row — a line
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. march — music
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. current — happening now
  9. spell — magic
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. spell — a short time
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. row — a quarrel

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