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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 120 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: fan · straw · kid · saw · arm · march · mark · rock

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. kid — child
  15. saw — the tool
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — to tease
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. mark — a trace
  22. rock — music
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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