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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. key — for a lock
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. roll — a cake
  12. march — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bass — low music
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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