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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. track — a song
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. track — to keep track
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kid — child
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. sharp — clever
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. track — a path
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. march — the month
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — to tease

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