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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. spring — the season
  4. rock — a stone
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. staff — a stick
  9. saw — the tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. march — the month
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — of water
  14. rock — music
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — a coil
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. club — a group
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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