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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. march — music
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bass — the fish
  7. dip — to sink
  8. root — of a plant
  9. file — a document
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — low music
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. march — the month
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. content — happy
  17. root — the cause
  18. file — a tool
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a line of people
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. root — of a word
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. content — the amount

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