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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: straw · march · cell · bass · ruler · saw · sharp · fork

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cell — in biology
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bass — low music
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bass — the fish
  12. march — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. march — the month
  24. ruler — a monarch

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