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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — the animal
  7. band — a music group
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — a straw man

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