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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. present — there
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. present — a gift
  4. board — to get on
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — music
  7. race — the arms race
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. march — the month
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. race — humankind
  12. band — a music group
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. board — a committee
  18. sharp — clever
  19. race — a contest
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. march — the month
  22. present — the time now
  23. board — a flat piece
  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