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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wound — an injury
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. march — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spring — of water
  11. board — a committee
  12. content — happy
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. content — the amount
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. board — to get on
  24. mark — a grade

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