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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — a friend
  4. march — the month
  5. bank — of a river
  6. drill — a practice
  7. march — the month
  8. rash — hasty
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. march — music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bank — for money
  16. rash — a series
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — the season

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