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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 116 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: content · march · straw · wave · present · row · scale · saw

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — there
  5. march — the month
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. row — a line
  9. present — the time now
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. content — the amount
  13. scale — size or range
  14. row — to paddle
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. present — a gift
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — in 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