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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: straw · bark · racket · cell · tube · lean · snap · march

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — music
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. tube — the underground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. lean — thin
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bark — to shout
  21. tube — a container
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. march — the month

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