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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: rule · march · content · straw · fork · hand · perch · pitcher

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rule — government
  6. march — the month
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — help
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. march — the month
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rule — a law
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. hand — in cards
  23. perch — the fish
  24. content — the amount

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