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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: toast · clip · march · pitcher · bound · ground · content · straw

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. toast — bread
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — a video
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — the amount
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bound — certain
  14. content — happy
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ground — a position
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — music
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. clip — to cut

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