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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: straw · bowl · perch · hand · march · jam · pound · wax

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. march — music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hand — help
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. hand — in cards
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. perch — the fish
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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