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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mate — a partner
  4. march — the month
  5. mate — to breed
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. march — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. last — finally
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. mate — a friend
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — to go on
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. last — final
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. tube — in a tire

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