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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 120 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. object — a thing
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bark — to shout
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cell — a phone
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. object — to protest
  14. mark — a trace
  15. object — an aim
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — the month
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cell — in biology

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