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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. march — music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. track — a path
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. march — the month
  8. tube — the underground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pit — in a race
  11. hand — help
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitch — completely
  15. hand — in cards
  16. track — a song
  17. march — the month
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lean — to bend
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pit — a hole
  24. tube — in a tire

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