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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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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: staff · march · straw · root · stick · clip · band · bat

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — music
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — the month
  10. band — a ring
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. band — a music group
  20. staff — employees
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. staff — a stick
  23. clip — to cut
  24. straw — dry grass

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