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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wake — a trail
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. rash — hasty
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hand — help
  15. key — for a lock
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. swing — in golf
  18. key — in music
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. swing — music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. hand — in cards

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