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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: wake · hand · rash · file · kid · straw · march · track

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kid — child
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a document
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kid — to tease
  15. march — the month
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rash — hasty
  19. track — a song
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — a straw man

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