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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: march · mate · cue · arm · fan · racket · drill · straw

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mate — a partner
  6. drill — the tool
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. drill — army training
  10. cue — for pool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. march — the month
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mate — to breed
  24. arm — part of the body

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