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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tube — the underground
  3. foot — a measure
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. branch — a division
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tube — a container
  14. march — the month
  15. deal — to handle
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. game — wild animals
  19. march — music
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. foot — part of the body

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