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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: cabinet · bear · straw · rest · current · hand · kid · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. current — electric
  10. rest — a break
  11. march — the month
  12. hand — in cards
  13. current — happening now
  14. hand — help
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rest — what's left
  17. march — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bear — the animal
  22. current — of water
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. straw — a straw man

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