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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. staff — a stick
  3. march — music
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. foot — a measure
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. branch — a division
  12. march — the month
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. staff — employees
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. snap — to click
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. staff — employees

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