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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 · bank · hand · mark · cold · straw · bore · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. march — the month
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mark — a trace
  10. march — music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. can — a tin
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bore — to drill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. hand — help
  24. can — a tin

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