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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mug — a face
  3. march — the month
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — music
  6. craft — a skill
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. season — of the year
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. last — final
  18. season — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mug — to rob
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. staff — a stick
  24. mug — a cup

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