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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bank — for money
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mate — a partner
  13. board — a committee
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. board — to get on
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. rush — hurry
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. march — music
  24. bank — for money

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