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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. track — a path
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a song
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. band — a music group
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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