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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cue — a hint
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cue — a signal
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cap — a lid
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cap — of ice
  18. branch — a division
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. file — a document
  21. cue — for pool
  22. present — there
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. file — a tool

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