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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wake — a trail
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. scale — in music
  21. march — the month
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. vault — a safe

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