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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. roll — a list
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. march — music
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. drill — a practice
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. march — the month
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. sharp — clever
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. drill — army training
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. branch — a division
  24. march — the month

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