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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: march · chest · vault · fork · wind · straw · present · saw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. present — there
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chest — a box
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. present — the time now
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. saw — the tool
  20. vault — a safe
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. present — a gift
  23. chest — of your body
  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