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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — for golf
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rock — a stone
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rock — music
  13. march — the month
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. club — for dancing
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cell — in biology
  21. kid — to tease
  22. club — a group
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kid — child

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