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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: band · march · straw · hand · lean · stick · prune · temple

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. hand — help
  3. lean — to bend
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — in cards
  6. march — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. lean — thin
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. band — a ring
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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