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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: rush · pound · leaves · march · straw · arm · clip · season

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. rush — to hurry
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — hurry
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. march — the month
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. season — of the year
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — in sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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