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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 · mouse · dip · hand · saw · field · straw · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. march — the month
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. pop — to visit
  4. field — farmland
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pop — music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pop — soda
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — the tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — a subject
  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