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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. drill — army training
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. drill — a practice
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. band — a ring
  10. spell — a short time
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mark — a grade
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. march — the month
  18. band — a music group
  19. march — music
  20. mark — a trace
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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