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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wake — a trail
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — a stick
  14. shower — rain
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. clip — a video

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