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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. staff — a stick
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cap — a lid
  11. staff — employees
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. can — to be able to
  16. sharp — clever
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — of ice
  20. swing — in golf
  21. staff — employees
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. can — a tin
  24. swing — to play on

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