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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: bowl · march · prune · rule · pitcher · straw · mate · dip

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rule — a law
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. dip — to sink
  12. mate — a partner
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. mate — to breed
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bowl — to roll

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