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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: face · chest · bay · straw · row · march · board · drill

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. row — a line
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. face — to confront
  5. board — a committee
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. march — music
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. row — to paddle
  15. board — to get on
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. march — the month
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. drill — army training
  20. face — to point toward
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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