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

Word bank: band · straw · bay · sharp · pitch · rest · prune · march

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pitch — completely
  4. march — music
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a music group
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. prune — to trim
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — the month
  14. rest — a break
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rest — what's left
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — the month
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. band — a ring
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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