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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. key — the most important part
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — the month
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fine — all right
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. march — music

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