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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: wave · band · straw · mug · march · pitcher · snap · stand

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mug — a face
  7. band — a music group
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mug — to rob
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stand — to bear
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a ring
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — music
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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