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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. file — a tool
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. file — a line of people
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. craft — a skill
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a document
  14. kick — in football
  15. craft — boats
  16. dip — to sink
  17. march — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — the month
  21. stem — to come from
  22. date — the fruit
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stem — a stem cell

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