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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. present — the time now
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bound — obliged
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — the fish
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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