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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. board — to get on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. saw — the tool
  5. board — a committee
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. chest — a box
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — the month
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — to bend
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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