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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 124 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. march — the month
  3. chip — for betting
  4. clip — for paper
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. march — music
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. march — the month
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. track — a song
  12. chip — to eat
  13. clip — a video
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. toast — bread
  16. date — the fruit
  17. track — a path
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. clip — to cut
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. track — to keep track

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