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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bark — to shout
  10. march — music
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bulb — for light
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. game — a match

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