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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mark — a grade
  3. hand — in cards
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. squash — the sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mark — a trace
  13. march — music
  14. lean — thin
  15. pop — music
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. hand — help
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pop — soda
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pop — to visit
  24. row — to paddle

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