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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wake — a trail
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. march — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. march — the month
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cell — in biology
  24. racket — for tennis

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