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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 · season · bark · march · drill · swing · fine · press

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. march — the month
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. swing — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. season — in sport
  9. press — to push
  10. fine — all right
  11. drill — army training
  12. bark — to shout
  13. season — of the year
  14. fine — high quality
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. press — newspapers
  19. drill — a practice
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. march — music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. drill — the tool

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