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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. prune — to trim
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — rain
  11. season — in sport
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bore — to tire
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cold — not warm
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. season — of the year
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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