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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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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 · snap · calf · present · wind · rule · saw · pitcher

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. march — music
  3. snap — to click
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rule — government
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — the time now
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rule — a law
  18. present — a gift
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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