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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. spring — of water
  3. drill — the tool
  4. march — music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — a leader
  7. board — to get on
  8. spring — the season
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. drill — army training
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lean — thin
  19. board — a committee
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — a coil
  24. march — the month

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