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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. capital — money
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fall — the season
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — the sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — the month
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — to drop
  21. track — a path
  22. prune — to trim
  23. squash — to crush
  24. capital — a big letter

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