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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. snap — to click
  4. drill — army training
  5. wax — to grow
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. march — the month
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. pitch — completely
  12. track — a song
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. track — to keep track
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. track — a path
  18. saw — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. saw — the tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — a sports field

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