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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. staff — a stick
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. staff — employees
  14. present — there
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. present — a gift
  18. march — the month
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. march — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. present — the time now
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — dry grass

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