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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: arm · straw · spring · bay · saw · staff · deal · march

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. march — the month
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. saw — the tool
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — a coil
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. staff — a stick
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. staff — employees
  19. spring — the season
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. spring — of water
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. march — music

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