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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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. lean — to bend
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mark — a grade
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. mark — a trace
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. march — music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. march — the month
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a document
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — to turn a key

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