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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. capital — money
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a ring
  7. bear — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. rest — what's left
  13. march — music
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. band — a music group
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. shower — to wash
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bear — the animal

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