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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bore — to tire
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. band — a ring
  6. march — music
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bore — to drill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. band — a music group
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. object — to protest
  19. march — the month
  20. object — an aim
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bat — the animal
  24. object — a thing

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