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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · bear · cell · nail · straw · wind

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — the month
  10. bear — the animal
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cell — in biology
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. march — music

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