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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: lean · spell · cap · mark · march · clip · straw · last

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. spell — a short time
  5. clip — for paper
  6. march — the month
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — a video
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. spell — letters
  14. mark — a trace
  15. last — finally
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a hat
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. last — final
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cap — of ice

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