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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. pop — soda
  3. cold — not warm
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. march — the month
  6. cold — an illness
  7. suit — clothes
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. pop — music
  11. suit — in cards
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. march — music
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. saw — the tool
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. march — the month

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