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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: pop · spell · object · straw · march · wound · present · date

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. date — the fruit
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — magic
  17. pop — music
  18. spell — letters
  19. present — the time now
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. present — a gift
  22. object — to protest
  23. pop — soda
  24. wound — an injury

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