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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. last — final
  3. march — the month
  4. root — of a word
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. board — a committee
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. last — to go on
  9. mug — a face
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mug — a cup
  12. kid — child
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — to tease
  15. board — to get on
  16. root — the cause
  17. mug — to rob
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. march — the month
  20. last — finally
  21. root — of a plant
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cabinet — ministers

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