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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mug — a cup
  7. drill — a practice
  8. branch — a division
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — low music
  14. march — the month
  15. mug — to rob
  16. march — music
  17. drill — the tool
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mug — a face
  24. drill — army training

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