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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mug — a face
  4. clip — a video
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — the month
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mug — to rob
  12. band — a ring
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. march — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — to cut
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mug — a cup
  24. band — a music group

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