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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. march — music
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — for sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. court — of law
  16. pit — in a race
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — of a king
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rest — a break
  21. pit — a hole
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rest — what's left
  24. spell — a short time

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