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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: fine · march · shower · fork · straw · foot · fall · roll

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. march — music
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. roll — a cake
  12. foot — a measure
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. roll — a list
  17. fork — in a road
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. fine — high quality
  21. shower — to wash
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — all right
  24. fall — the season

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