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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. march — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a lid
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cap — of ice
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a line of people
  15. march — the month
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. file — a tool
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. rule — a law
  20. file — a document
  21. march — the month
  22. rule — government
  23. cap — a hat
  24. prune — the fruit

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